[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 21682]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO LARRY MUNSON

  Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, earlier today I spoke on the floor 
about the impending financial difficulties we are facing and the issues 
before us. I come back not to repeat those remarks at all but, rather, 
in this time of turmoil and stress, to recognize that all of us as 
Americans, and Georgians in my State, in times of difficulty turn to 
those institutions of faith and family that give them strength.
  In Georgia, in the fall, there is another institution that gives us 
strength, the University of Georgia football, the Southeastern 
Conference, and a man named Larry Munson. On Monday of this week, Larry 
Munson, at the age of 86, announced his retirement, after 43 years as 
the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs.
  He first started in Wyoming, moved to Tennessee, and in 1962, the 
Atlanta Braves brought him to Atlanta to be the first announcer when 
the franchise moved from Milwaukee. In 1996, Joel Eaves, the athletic 
director, asked him to come to Athens. He became an institution not 
just in Athens, not just in the Southeastern Conference but of 
announcers around the world.
  He is in the company of Chris Schenkel, Frank Jackson, and those 
famous voices all of us have known in sports. But more than anything 
else, Larry Munson coined phrases that now are listed in dictionaries 
and history books for their uniqueness.
  In 1981, when the University of Georgia upset Tennessee in Knoxville, 
TN, on the last play of the game, he talked about how his ``Bulldogs 
had stepped on and crushed the Tennessee faces just like they had on a 
hobnailed boot.''
  In 1982, when Georgia won the Southeastern Conference in Auburn, it 
was Larry Munson who declared that ``sugar was falling from the skies'' 
as Georgia got an invitation to go to the Sugar Bowl.
  Probably the most memorable, in 1980, when Herschel Walker, then a 
freshman, scored his first touchdown of a storied career in college, 
Larry Munson replied, as he announced the run: My goodness, he is 
running over people. He ran right through people. And, oh, my goodness, 
he is only a freshman.
  These and so many more have endeared Larry Munson to the people of 
Georgia, the Southeastern Conference, and collegiate gate football. So 
on this day in the Senate, as all of us seek comfort in those things we 
appreciate, love, and admire, I wish to express my appreciation to 
Larry Munson and the contributions he has made to athletics in our 
State and to the University of Georgia and wish him the very best in 
the years to come.
  God bless you, Larry.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator is authorized to speak for up to 10 minutes.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I need 20, so I ask unanimous consent 
for 20.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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