UGA versus LSU, as the mighty Munson might have called it
Could Georgia hook just one more big fish for the Munster? (AJC file)
Georgia plays top-ranked LSU on Saturday. Were the radio man Larry Munson, who died Nov. 20 at age 89, around to call the game, it might sound a bit like this:
Munson: “Get the picture: We’re wearing red jerseys and silver britches, going left to right on your radio dial. And we have NO CHANCE. They’ve got 12 guys who make Big Jonathan Jenkins look like Tom Thumb. And such SPEED. Even Vandy didn’t have speed like this …
“We kick off to them. Their guy runs right through 10 of our guys — look at that speed! — and gets all the way out to their 25. We have NO CHANCE. But Jarvis Jones breaks through and knocks the quarterback down! They have to punt! Whaddaya know about that? …
“Crowell in the ‘I’ and we give it to him and he goes five, TEN, FIFTEEN yards! He ran right through those monsters! Looked like that professor in ‘Jurassic Park’! And now Murray fakes it and throws it and … we catch it! Over their heads! MALCOLM MITCHELL! Touchdown! It’s a TOUCHDOWN! It’s a miracle! A miracle on … whaddaya call this street thingy outside the Dome? Northside? It’s a Miracle on NORTHSIDE DRIVE! Old Saint Nick just dropped through this roof and smacked LSU with a gunnysack full of coal, and Les Miles is standing there with a nose as red as Rudolph’s!
“I gotta calm down before I destroy some Dome property. Loran, whaddaya got?”
Loran Smith: “Larrah, the lovely Julie Moran sent me a note telling me she’d be watching from Hollywood and rooting for her Dogs … ”
Munson (interrupting): “We kick it off and their man has it. He runs through 15 of our guys and he’s gonna score and there goes our lead. He ran that kickoff back TWO HUNDRED YARDS.Have you seen SUCH SPEED? We have NO CHANCE.”
(We move to further action, as they used to do on Notre Dame replays.)
Munson: “Second quarter, tie game, and LSU’s acting like she wants to score. And we can’t stop anybody. We are so puny and so slow! How’d we ever get in this game, anyway? But now Jarvis Jones knocks down their quarterback again — four sacks for him, Hondo Williamson tells me — and they have to kick a field goal. And we’re down 10-7 and we’ve got NO CHANCE.”
(We skip ahead to the fourth quarter.)
Munson: Getting very, very late now, and we need a miracle. We need Lindsay and Herschel and Appleby all baked in one big APPLE PIE! They’re up three and they’re about to put us away and … JARVIS JONES knocks down the quarterback AGAIN! Six sacks for him! And they have to punt to us! Whaddaya think, Scott? Do we have a chance?
Scott Howard: “We might, Larry.”
Munson (snorting): “You young guys ALWAYS think there’s a chance. We don’t have enough TIME. But looky here! We give it to little Thomas and he knocks people backwards, and now Murray throws a screen to the tight end and … Orson Charles! ORSON CHARLES!!! RUN, ORSON!!! … And it’s a touchdown! IT’S A TOUCHDOWN!!! … We throw a two-inch bomb and he takes it TWO THOUSAND YARDS! We just took a 2X4 and smacked Mike The Tiger right in his striped backside!!!
“But there’s TOO MUCH TIME. We can’t stop them again. We’ve got no SIZE, no SPEED. We shopped at the dime store and they went to Rich’s. And our guys are SO TIRED …
“BUT it’s fourth down! FOURTH DOWN with 61 seconds left! I might be asking too much, but: Guys, just ONE MORE TIME! HUNKER DOWN! HUNKER DOWN!!! And they snap it and … MY GOD! JARVIS JONES! JARVIS JONES!!! He got him AGAIN! It’s OUR BALL! All four legs just fell off my chair! And we’re in the victory formation and we’re under 10 seconds and …
“Sugar is falling out of the sky! NO! It’s little Chick-fil-A cows! On parachutes! They’re COWS DIPPED IN SUGAR! LOOK AT THOSE SUGAR-DIPPED COWS FALLING OUT OF THE SKY!!! …
“We had NO CHANCE! But we had Old Lady Luck! And Old Lady Luck just slapped Les Miles in the face with that APPLE PIE! And that pie had a ANVIL in it! We broke their NOSE! We broke their HEART! I broke my CHAIR! I spilled my COKE!
“We’re going to the SUGAR BOWL! Beignets and crawfish etouffee for New Year’s! We’re gonna paint Tchoupitoulas Street red and black! Who’ll we play there, Scott?
“Houston, huh? Have you SEEN Houston’s quarterback? And all that SPEED? We’ll have NO CHANCE.”
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
514 comments Add your comment
H DAWG
December 1st, 2011
4:11 pm
Man, that brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eyes ! Go win it for Larry boys and make us all proud !
WDE
December 1st, 2011
4:11 pm
Damn I just went back and read it again…that Mark was wonderful piece of writing ! On parachutes! They’re COWS DIPPED IN SUGAR! LOOK AT THOSE SUGAR-DIPPED COWS FALLING OUT OF THE SKY!!! …you just can’t get any better than that!! Have a great evening Bull Dog Nation !!!! My God after a 0-2 start we are going to get to play for a SEC title !!
Beast from the East Eaten by Dawg
December 1st, 2011
4:13 pm
Great piece, Mark. Munson was one of a kind.
Sose
December 1st, 2011
4:14 pm
As many before has said, this was a great, great read (listen?). It is in true Munson style and his voice rang out with each line. It did give me chills down my spine, perfectly done. Well played Sir! God I miss listening to that man.
barrow dog
December 1st, 2011
4:14 pm
Funniest damn thing i’ve read in the sports pages since Lewis Grizzard.
thanks and GO DOGS!
Vince
December 1st, 2011
4:16 pm
You made me cry reading this article. Excellent job! The mark of a very good sportswriter. Let’s equate this to something like Cindy Crawford—-a really nice piece!
Dennis
December 1st, 2011
4:17 pm
Good job Mark. Larry would be proud!!
the old coach
December 1st, 2011
4:21 pm
Mark you just made an old 71 year old man cry. OMG I felt Larry sitting right here beside me. I f we win which I am a believer you need to do this story on a nice parchment paper. I think you could make some bucks. One of the best pieces I have ever read that you wrote. By the way I coached one of your associate writers Kevin Whaley.
LSUTigerinATL
December 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
“Oh my God I’ve never seen any team beat us like this LSU team. Man are they one damm good football team!”
bill
December 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
God bless Thurman–
Ron Burgundy
December 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
Larry would probably say….Geez itsa been forever since we won a national title…and that one was lame cause the schedule was so easy.
collegedude
December 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
Ok, usually I don’t like anything Mr. Bradley writes, but here is the exception to the rule. Extremely well done Mr. Bradley.
Did anybody else hear Larry’s voice reading that? Sounded in my head like Larry was saying every word of it.
The Big Cat
December 1st, 2011
4:23 pm
Mark great article. However everytime you had dialog for Scott Howard it should have just said “(silly giggling and squealing)” That is all that he does.
Go back and listen to the “Hobnail Boot” call. While it was one of Munson’s greatest, it is almost ruined by Scott Howard screaming like a 12 year old girl at a Justin Beiber concert.
Scott Howard and Eric Zeier are so bad that in honor of Larry Munson passing away they both should quit.
WOW!
December 1st, 2011
4:25 pm
Your greatest work! Man I had chills a Dawg could bite! Heck, I honestly think we gonna win. Hear that Dawg fans? We gonna pull it off!
Snack Shack
December 1st, 2011
4:25 pm
Wonderful! Absolutely, wonderful!
VALDOSTADAWG
December 1st, 2011
4:27 pm
That was a wonderful article. RIP Larry we miss you so much…DGD. Thats what we need to hunker down one last time
Wofford T-Dawg
December 1st, 2011
4:27 pm
Shultzie – whatta ya got?
Marvin Mangrum
December 1st, 2011
4:27 pm
Read that, tears falling, dang you man , dang you.
John Boy
December 1st, 2011
4:29 pm
That made me cry. He’s gone and we will never hear him again.
Chopper
December 1st, 2011
4:29 pm
PERFECT!
evil empire
December 1st, 2011
4:29 pm
MB…quit feeding these uga idiots…you can evoke all the great prophets and greats you like, it isn’t gonna help uga’s players when LSU puts the hammer down…LSU 44 UGa 10…thats just the way it is in the real world, not the fantasy land you and the dawg faithful want it to be…
Marvin Mangrum
December 1st, 2011
4:30 pm
Tis Thursday afternoon, alls well, then I gotta stick my nose into your silly renderings, dang man, dang. He was a genius, surely was.
Dink
December 1st, 2011
4:32 pm
Great job MB! You brought a big smile to this old Bulldog’s face!
evil empire
December 1st, 2011
4:34 pm
earth to dawg fans…in 48 hours you will begin getting the beatdown of the decade by a vastly superior LSU squad with much bigger fish to fry…start working on your excuses NOW…
Mole
December 1st, 2011
4:36 pm
Fantastic, You made my day
impressed
December 1st, 2011
4:37 pm
Mark, thanks for having too much time on your hands. Hands down best guess at a Munson call Sat night. Love it….
Geaux Tigers
December 1st, 2011
4:37 pm
Man GA fans, the reality of Saturday is going to be PAINFUL to deal with.
GA hopes to win, LSU expects to win.
Bo
December 1st, 2011
4:37 pm
Evil empire your comments are for another column on another day. This is about Larry, He did not hate LSU and he would have loved to have been in the booth for this one on Saturday.
ViningsDawg
December 1st, 2011
4:38 pm
Best Work Ever!!! Sugar dipped cows… Brilliant!!!
1980_Georgette
December 1st, 2011
4:39 pm
Just curious – do folks know that Larry was really seeing ACUTAL SUGAR (CUBES) ‘falling from the sky’ at that fateful Auburn game? I was there when it happened: Folks started throwing the sugar cubes – my guess from the upper deck when we took the lead. I was shocked and amazed that someone was smart enought to think to bring bucket loads of sugar cubes! So – I always assumed that Larry saw what was happening and just described it – but from reading the tributes – I think that fact that there was ‘real sugar falling’ has gotten lost – so now you know the rest of the story! I just remembered getting pelted and loving it (you could say it ‘was’ truly very very sweet momement in time!!!). I have a feeling folks threw the sugar cubes at the Auburn fans too – since they retaliated years later (or the next year) with the water cannons on us… Perhalps fans going to the Dome and to Munson’s memorial should sneak in sugar cubes – they’re easy to buy in a box on the sugar isle in the grocery store and again let the sugar fall from the sky…. AND Dawg fans – remember you can’t spell SUGAR without UGA!
Dink
December 1st, 2011
4:39 pm
Bo
Well said! Man, what is with some people…
DLHC
December 1st, 2011
4:40 pm
Bravo! Bravo! Larry would be proud.
joekill
December 1st, 2011
4:40 pm
awesome GO DAWGS lets win it for larry
Perfect
December 1st, 2011
4:41 pm
You nailed it.
Snoopy
December 1st, 2011
4:41 pm
A classic job, Mark.
KB
December 1st, 2011
4:42 pm
Thats the best article you have ever done Bradley. Great work
South Carolina DAWGS
December 1st, 2011
4:42 pm
thanks Mark
Across the great Savannah WE enjoyed it. Well Done my man!!!!
GaDawgs7
December 1st, 2011
4:42 pm
May have been your best column ever!
egeagle
December 1st, 2011
4:45 pm
Good piece, Mark. As one who grew up like KCCynic, listening to Larry and Al on an AM radio while sitting under a shade tree in a porch swing, I could hear Larry loud and clear. Those strong bonds to Dawg football last until now and will remain forever. I’m a Georgia Southern fan, but I guess you could say I’m an illegal alein in the Bulldog Nation as well. I’m also an honor graduate of the fabled Munson School of Worry. Until Larry’s retirement, no college season could begin until I heard Larry say, “Get the picture” for the first game. Even if I was in the Boro or wherever the Eagles were opening, that phrase was a must hear. I’ll never forget how he and Chuck Dowdlw announced a GS game against Northern Iowa on our first championship run. He got excited in that one even. One last call that rarely gets mentioned came from 1976 when Lindsay Scott returned the second half kickoff for a TD and UGA beat LSU 24-17. We just beat LSU in Bqaton Rouge on Saturday night!” 35 years later, I hope to hear Scott Howard say something similar.
SweatDawg
December 1st, 2011
4:45 pm
this is the best you have ever been. I have a tear in my eye. Go Dawgs!
Ron Burgundy
December 1st, 2011
4:45 pm
He is probably saying….what do we have to do to win a national title around here? I mean we have the easist schedule since 1980 and we still mess it up!
MidGA Dawg
December 1st, 2011
4:46 pm
Outstanding article! i could hear every word in his voice!
“I GAVE UP, YOU DID TOO! AND JARVIS JONES CAME FLYING IN THERE TO SAVE THE DOGS!”
Doodaddy
December 1st, 2011
4:47 pm
Thanks so much for this piece, Mark. You definitely hob-nailed it. Forever lives the spirit of Munson.
Tripp Bowden
December 1st, 2011
4:48 pm
Mark I often enjoy your columns but this just might be the best one yet. You absolutely nailed ol Munson dead on. Nicely done. I too got a little lump in my throat reading it, having grown up listening to Munson. My dad would turn down the tv volume and turn on Munson. There will never be another. Thanks for this. Cheers. Trippster
DCBrave33
December 1st, 2011
4:48 pm
The funny thing is that if you ever listened to Munson, all the talk about other teams speed is so true. Regardless of who it was, they always had “one of those track guys” that could blaze down the field and our defense had no chance against him. He built a monster that, if you didn’t see a television image accompaning his radio call, had you scared out of your mind?
Could we lose to Northwestern State? Larry says they’ve got two guys that are faster than any two we have on either offense of defense.
It made every Georgia victory seem like a win for the underdog. A miracle from the heavens. I will probably miss that the most about him.
Thanks Mark.
Smitty
December 1st, 2011
4:48 pm
READ THIS AND JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOU WILL HEAR MUNSON CALLING THE GAME…WHAT A GREAT ARTICLE
Marion
December 1st, 2011
4:49 pm
love.this.column.
SEC Fact Finder
December 1st, 2011
4:49 pm
Larry Munson and his era of announcers could really paint a picture. Miss those guys.
Good Job Mark.
si
December 1st, 2011
4:50 pm
I lived next to his apt in Atl, he partied a lot and had lots of working women, go larry!
And thats 100% true
lanier
December 1st, 2011
4:50 pm
best thing you have EVER written. the dawgs need you on the mic