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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > June > 19
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
It’s not easy replacing a legend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We all knew the day would come when Larry Munson would step down as the voice of Georgia football, but many Bulldog fans hoped (and still hope) that time wouldn’t arrive for quite a while.
But even if Munson’s health improves enough for him to do part or all of the 2007 season, UGA has to come up with a replacement sometime soon. I’ve been mulling over possible candidates for the past couple of seasons without settling on a favorite.
Some fans think the announcer needs to be someone with UGA ties, and that certainly would help ease the transition a bit. But I’m not sure that’s really a requirement. After all, when Munson was hired, he had no UGA connections; he was a longtime Vanderbilt announcer who was coming off a season on the Atlanta Braves’ broadcast team. I remember a lot of fans griped he was “no Ed Thilenius,” Munson’s popular predecessor. It took us a couple of seasons to warm up to Larry, but once he started identifying with Georgia as “we,” the fans came around. Yeah, he’s a “homer,” but that’s not why people quote and buy recordings of his best calls; it’s the color, the quirks, hunkering down, thinking of Montreal, hobnail boots and the whole shebang.
A lot of fans think color man Scott Howard, who also handles UGA basketball play-by-play, deserves a shot. And Howard probably is the best option on at least an interim basis. He certainly is a Bulldog and does a pretty good job on the basketball broadcasts, but I’m not sure he ever could approach Munson in conveying the excitement of a game.
Actually, there probably aren’t many announcers not of Munson’s generation who could.
The main thing I’d like to see UGA do is hire someone who is an announcer, first and foremost. If he has Georgia ties, great. But don’t give him the job just ‘cause he’s a former Dawg. That didn’t work with head coach and I don’t think it would work in the broadcast booth. Buck Belue might make a good replacement for Loran Smith on the sidelines, but he just doesn’t have the radio chops for the top job.
There are UGA-connected announcers who do, like Chip Caray and Ernie Johnson Jr., but they have great jobs already that would conflict with football season. But, hey, it might be worth a try for one of them.
Brad Nessler doesn’t have UGA ties, though he lives here, but he’d be unlikely to consider jumping from ABC/ESPN. Longtime sportscaster Bob Neal, who used to do some Bulldog games on TV back when TBS carried the SEC, seems a bit too laid back. And while he’s 20 years younger than Munson, Georgia probably doesn’t want another senior citizen. Neal’s son Dave does play-by-play for the Lincoln Financial Sports coverage of noontime SEC games, but I frankly haven’t been impressed with his work.
Local sportscasters Bill Hartman and Chuck Dowdle have very strong UGA ties, but neither has much play-by-play experience. I know Jeff Hullinger, who returned to town to work for WSB Radio (which anchors the Georgia football network), has done plenty of play-by-play, but I don’t think he’d be a good match with UGA. I remember talking to him back when he was with WAGA in the ’80s and I was covering TV, and he had a rather condescending view of Georgia football fans. We don’t need someone sneering at us while he calls our games.
So, basically, I think UGA ought to go with Howard for the short-term, and try to land a first-rate, experienced play-by-play man in the long run. If they must use Buck, keep him on the field. If they want a former Dawg in the booth as a color analyst, I’d try Kevin Butler. I like his outspoken approach on WNGC’s “Fifth Quarter Show.” And down the road, when he’s through with the NFL, David Pollack and his natural gift of gab would be a nice addition to the broadcasts.
Let’s just hope we haven’t heard the last of Munson, though.
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