A Renaissance Legend

FROM THE
EDITOR
Vincent Joseph Dooley was a renaissance legend, who meant
so much to so many, which is why celebrating his life on Friday
will be so special … followed by swatting the Bees on Saturday
VANCE LEAVY
EDITOR IN CHIEF
After the frigid roadie to
Lexington, Thanksgiving week
has arrived and the Bulldog
Nation has so much to be thankful
for. Our football team is No. 1 in the
country and on Saturday they have the opportunity to post
back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. And on Friday night
in Stegeman Coliseum, Bulldog backers get to gather as one to
celebrate the well-lived life of Vincent Joseph Dooley.
Thankful indeed!
Where should I begin in discussing Coach Dooley?
I think this issue’s cover headline nails it … ‘A Renaissance
Legend, who Meant so Much to so Many.” Everyone at Bulldawg
Illustrated is mighty proud of this tribute issue to Coach that
starts on page 15 and continues for over 30 pages. This tribute
had to be tremendous when paying respects to such an
amazing man.
In the tribute section, you will find quotes from all the circles
that occupied Coach Dooley’s terrific orbit for the 90 years
he was on this Earth. Not surprisingly, words like integrity,
fairness and intelligence are a constant theme in the quote
contributor’s submissions to what Coach Dooley meant to
their lives.
Like I covered in our Tennessee issue (the week after Coach’s
passing), Cheri and I will forever be indebted to Coach for
believing in our vision for Bulldawg Illustrated when we
pitched the idea to him 20 years ago. In a nutshell, he said go
for it and how can I help. That’s the kind of man and leader
Coach Dooley was. He loved to help people whenever he could
and was also there to lend counsel to those that sought it out.
He was a leader personified!
Or as Jeff Danzler interjects in his column (page 12), “Vince
Dooley was a titan, a mountain, a giant, unquestionably one of
the most important, influential, transcendent, significant and
successful figures in the history of University of Georgia.”
Well said JD, well said.
I know you will love the columns in the tribute (beginning on
page 38) where Loran Smith, Ronda Rich, Murray Poole and
Hamilton Culpepper share their memories and praise of Coach
Dooley. It’s simply amazing what Coach meant to so many.
Beyond the columns, we were able to gather around 30
quotes (beginning on page 15) from players, coaches, friends
and associates of Coach Dooley’s. Each quote is so special and
may cause a tear or two while reading them. Finally on pages
31 and 32, JD reminds everyone of Coach’s stellar 25-year
coaching career. Not only did he notch 201 wins, Coach made
his players better men. For that matter, Vincent Joseph Dooley
made everyone around him better.
We love you and miss you Coach and hope this tribute lives
up to the impeccable standards you possessed your entire,
incredible life. Rest in Peace … Vince Dooley!
Beyond the tribute, this issue of BI gets you ready for another
battle with the Bees from North Avenue. As Greg Poole (page
56) points out in his From the Field column, Tennessee and
Florida were heavy favorites this past Saturday. However,
a funny thing happened once the games were played …
embarrassing losses to South Carolina and Vandy. Greg’s point
is simple. Show up to play no matter who your opponent is.
While Georgia Tech’s season certainly hasn’t been what they
hoped for, they have showed fight under their interim coach,
Brent Key.
Saturday’s noon game will also be special as
our seniors play their final game in Sanford
Stadium. My goodness those guys have won
a slew of games (56 in the last five years). But
more than anything, they bought into Coach
Smart and his staff’s commitment to playing
the game of football the way it’s meant to be
played. Thank you, thank you to our seniors!
On the social front, the Bulldog Nation
wasn’t going to let the brutal weather
keep them from supporting their team in
Lexington. Enjoy our fan photos from the
game beginning on page 64.
Also, in our social section, I know you will
enjoy getting to know Lauren Alexander
Koontz (Georgia Girls, pages 62 and 63),
Dewey Benefield (Proust Q&A, page 76) and Kathleen Russell
(Bulldog of the 4th Estate, page 77). Being a coastal Georgia
boy, I can attest to the respect Lauren, Dewey and Kathleen
have in our parts. I’m sure Lauren’s mom only wishes she could
get her daughter back in the Golden Isles full time.
That’s going to do it for me. This 80-pager on top of a road
trip was a beast. But like I said earlier, our tribute to Coach had
to be well done. I sincerely hope it’s to all our readers’ liking.
We will be back next week with an SEC Championship Extra
issue. However, this week is all about giving thanks, saying
good-bye to Coach and supporting our seniors and team in
beating the Bees. See you at high noon in Sanford on Saturday
… Go Dawgs!!
BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED 10 ISSUE FOURTEEN • GEORGIA TECH