In a bittersweet piece on a visit to see Larry, Loran Smith tells us that some things never change.
… We talked about the Vanderbilt game.
“I didn’t like some of the stuff I saw out there, we almost gave it away,” Munson said. “You think we are gonna beat Florida? Is this our year?”
Munson doesn’t get out much any more, but he is alert and inquisitive about the Bulldogs. He wonders if Georgia’s special teams are going to improve.
“If we win out, do you think we can beat the winner of the Alabama-LSU game?” Whittemore asked Munson.
After that, it was vintage Munson. He began to lament problems that plague Georgia and looked at Whittemore like he had lost his mind.
Now that I think about it, I’ve heard Munson sound far more pessimistic than that. Maybe age is softening the man.
Get The Picture 
God bless him.
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Munson – still the best radio announcer in college football history. While I like Scott Howard, I would have loved to hear Larry call the Celebration. XM 91 still plays “Run, Lindsay, Run!” regularly.
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Muson, what a man! A great gentlemen and sportsman. Timeless. I am very glad Larry Munson came along during my life time. Always, always the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs. His calls of the games are legendary. Not one time since he left and they tee it up that I do not think of him. Value his opinion and judgment.
The best of the best
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It is sad that younger dawg fans will never know the joy of Saturdays with Munson. Pure college football gold!
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Scott Howard does a good job and you can tell he loves the dawgs. It is tough for anyone to follow a legend. It sure would be nice if Munson could make one last trip to the radio booth just so the Bulldawg nation could listen to the man one more time. Wishful thinking I know.
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Turning the Television sound down and the radio up so you could hear Munson making the calls. Sitting here on a beautiful Saturday morning with a cup of coffee typing this—Have to admit it brings a tear to my eye. There will never be another like him.
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Actually, it was not having to be in front of a TV to “get the picture” that made Larry so special as a broadcaster. Sure, there are unique Larry-only descriptions that everyone recalls but it was the ability to make the call and communicate exactly what was happening on the field that the listener needed to know/understand instantly so as not to be diasadvantaged by not having a seat with a view. It is exactly this that I have trouble with listening to Scott Howard.
I have nothing against him but he forgets we don’t know whether the action occurring is ten yards downfield, twenty, or five yards deep in the backfield. Sometimes it is almost 10-15 seconds after the play before I know if we picked up the first down or not. yard lines are key, I know what yardline we need to get to from previous information, but I need to know if we crossed the 40 or not when we complete a pass, or get outside and break a tackle. Scott, it is location, location, location. That is what we need. There has only been about 2 games I haven’t had access to watching as I listen to Scott Howard, and it is ver frustrating.
Didn’t mean to hijack a Larry Munsun thread, but comments on the new team seem to fit here. We need to step our game up, we were spoiled by the best.
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Timeless, yes.
I am still not at the point where I can listen to a Georgia radio broadcast without missing him. Nothing will ever compare.
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He shaped my perception of Georgia football and cemented radio as “my mind’s eye”. I had the opportunity several times to talk hunting and fishing with Munson and it’s a shame he’s unable to enjoy his real passions.
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He was one of the greatest gamecallers of all time. And it wasn’t just his iconic style and the memorable calls either–he called the game in real time and with extreme clarity.
That’s my biggest gripe with Howard. And it’s crazy–he’s a great B-ball play-by-play guy, which is way faster paced than football, but I swear, the guy can’t call a football game. He’s always at least a few seconds behind the play and with zero specificity. I think he’s improved some. Maybe he’ll continue to get better…
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Larry Legend. The sports soundtrack to my entire life. I miss him dearly. I’m grateful that I convinced my wife to love football in enough time for her to fall in love with the master, too. Sometimes I think about Scott, and can’t help but wonder how hard it is for him knowing that he’d rather be listening to Larry, too. Go Dawgs.
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What y’all said.
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I even miss his movie reviews….
Whenever I’m having a bad night I always give it the “It’s not been a night….for ‘ole Lady Luck”
The games will never be the same for me without him. Listening to him for almost 40 years its hard to have a game day without him.
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I have a close friend that visits with Larry regularly. Larry’s mind is as clear as ever but he’s just getting old. He was really encouraged by all the cards and notes he received for his recent birthday. I think it hurts him that some people may forget him but we all know that’s not possible.
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I’ve heard many other radio sports broadcasters, including greats like John Ward and Al Ciraldo. But even fans of UT and GT and others from across the country who happened to have heard him on Armed Forces Radio have doffed their verbal caps to Larry when they hear I’m a Dawg fan. In fact, there are 4 things I’ve consistently heard other teams’ fans say they envy about UGA: Herschel Walker, Vince Dooley, Uga and Larry Munson.
But Larry’s greatness as a broadcaster transcended that rare blend of on field accuracy and colorful impressionism, or that raspy voice, which even non Dawg fans could appreciate. I ALWAYS believed that Larry was pouring every ounce of himself into his broadcasts for people like me–Dawg fans young and old who couldn’t afford, or were too far away, to get to games. From his first words, he set out to paint “the picture” to the listeners he cared so much about, to give us, as much as humanly possible, not just the events, but the feel of the events, the emotions of the players and coaches and the folks in the seats, until even stadiums and the elements were incorporated into an event that often became operatic or mythical as much because of the words he spoke as the events themselves. And this tremendous gift he gave us, this transport to a magic place flowing with color, drama and passion, cost us not a dime and, for quite a while, didn’t make him much money, either.
All because Larry Munson gave a damn about his craft, the game, and us. We Georgia fans were and are privileged to have had him in our lives. As time goes by, my gratitude to him grows, and if I had a cosmic choice between the 42 years of Munson and at least a couple more national titles, I’d take the former every time, and without hesitation.
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Tennessee just scored a touchdown in the 1993 Alabama game….John Ward just said so.
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I’m sorry Slaw, just cannot let this one pass unchallenged: Al Ciraldo was never “great”. In fact, he wasn’t even good. He was an overreactive screamer who made a three yard gain sound like an 85 yard run with seven broken tackles.
Just like the 60s had great music, but all music in the 60s wasn’t good ….Ciraldo didn’t become great just because he is dead.
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God Bless Munson, absolutely! I can relate to a story like this, since my Dad just passed a couple of weeks ago and we had the memorial mass for him today. Thanks to Loran for that story .. who knows how many more there will be. I can still remember the first reports of Munson’s recent health scare last month.
Jim
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I have listened to Larry in Balad, Iraq and all over Germany on AFN Radio. He was the greatest…a homer for sure, but that was the norm for the great ones of his generation. So many of you have expressed your thoughts about Larry in a much more eloquent way than I could ever. But believe me, while under mortar fire in Iraq or on a ski trip to Kitzbuehel, Austria getting the crackly, in and out signal of AFN Munich and hearing Larry’s “Get the Picture” brought a real taste of home to this Soldier far away from home. Thank you Larry..you are the greatest.
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Munson is a one of a kind, a legend and a natural. no one could do as he does….it is just Munson being Munson. A real classic if there ever was one.On the other hand, I feel sorry for Scott Howard. The other criticisms of Scott on here are spot on. He is ultra slow to give yardage gained, call first down or anything else. It is obvious that he is afraid of making a mistake and he is nervous about it. Others say he is good on B Ball. Hopefully someone will kindly move him aside on football as he is a disaster, and it makes UGA look unprofessional to have someone calling the game when a person can almost get the flow of the game faster on one of the gametrackers available on line. Why has no one coached him up on the importance of not making the listener wait forever to find out how much yardage, etc. the play just resulted in. Need a real time, quick witted announcer…Scott is very slow and rather dull on air. Probably the worst play by play man in the SEC. And, sadly, no improvement has been made with experience. his problems are only fixable with a replacement, I am sorry to say. He is a great guy and I hope he will be able to remain as basketball play by play.
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God bless Larry Munson. He provided me many years of football enjoyment. It was almost as fun discussing the Munson calls with my Dad as it was discussing the actual game.
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