re: RIP Vince Dooley

Vince Dooley touched a lot of people and there are many who have their personal experiences with him. I will share mine.


I was a reporter at the Red&Black. The editor assigned me a story about a bunch of old growth trees that were cut down by the stadium so construction equipment could get in to build new skyboxes. If I had to guess the year, it was 1998-ish. The Red and Black was still on Jackson Street. The Red and Black, being the piece of shite it was, wanted a hit piece about football money destroying the beauty of the campus, or some shite like that. My pay rate at the time as a stringer was $15 per story that was published, so to get paid you have to get published. I could write a 100 stories but if none get printed, no check. I did have a desk there with a phone and a computer. If the Red and Black wanted a hit piece on the athletic department for cutting down trees, I was going to get my $15.

So I call the Athletic Department PR department phone number, talk to some lady and say who I am, the story I'm working on, and that I wanted to get a statement from the athletic department about the trees cut down around the stadium. She said they'd get back to us asap.

A few hours later, I'm typing something else about road construction on Thomas street and the Red and Black receptionist calls out "Deeprig9, you've got a call on Line 3.... .......... It's Vince Dooley"

The whole place stopped. It was the only real record-scratch moment I've ever experienced in real life. I looked down and the little red light on Line 3 was blinking. Everyone was staring at me.

I picked up the phone and pressed the button and said "This is Deeprig9"


Vince went on to explain to me that he takes it very seriously, and that he was the chairman of the arboretum committee for UGA, and that he lamented the cutting down of the trees, but also pointed out that for every tree they'd cut down, they had planted ten more on campus. He talked to me like I was his equal, he didn't treat me like I was some frickheaded Red and Black dipshit, which I was, he just talked to me graciously and reasonably like he was my grand dad. He could have had some PR lackey send me a fax or an email, but he wanted to call and talk to me directly.

So, my assigned hit piece on the AD was written up as a puff piece on how many trees were being planted on campus. I submitted my piece. The editor published, the piece, but changed the headline back to "UGA Football Cut Down Trees for Luxury Suite Construction".

I still got my $15. I got to talk to Vince Dooley. And I got to tell my story (regardless of headline), and now I get to tell it again. Vince Dooley is personally responsible for the fact we have so many trees on campus. Whenever the physical plant wanted to tear some down for a new project, it was the UGA arboretum committee that would fight back, chaired by Dooley for decades. Every tree you see on campus now, you can pretty much thank Vince Dooley for.

The Man, the Myth, the Legend. RIP Vince. You will be missed

Cut out cable a while back. Will find it on youtube.

Had the pleasure of meeting Coach and Barbara last August before the first game of the season at Msgr.Donovan School in Athens when they dedicated the field to him. He couldn't of been nicer and more accommodating. He took a picture w/our entire crew of officials before the game.

I'll always cherish that.

Cool story bro

For real

Cool story

I hope they replay the tribute they just did on SEC Nation for him so that more people can see it. My gosh, I just about sobbed.