In Honor of Vince Dooley
Vince Dooley, legendary coach of the Georgia Bulldogs passed away last week.
Even though I had seen him many times, given him the casual “hey coach” and handshake during football games, I never stopped to ask him for a photograph and only had casual conversation with him a few times in my life. But that doesn’t change the reverence I felt when in his presence.
I’m not a “can we get a picture together” or “can I have your autography” guy. As much as I like sports memorabilia, you would think the opposite. But when it comes to celebrities, either local or national, if I get a chance to meet or be around them I treat them like a normal person. I almost feel that it’s exactly the way they’d like to be treated. I don’t know if that’s the actual case, but that’s just how I am and I think of it as my gift to them because surely that’s not what other fans do.
The only thing I do have autographed by Coach Dooley is a mini University of Georgia football helmet. I got married in 2001 and one of my groomsmen was an intern in the University of Georgia Athletic Association. So, before my wedding, I purchased about eight helmets and asked him to get Coach Dooley to sign them, which he did. Those were my groomsmen gifts for my wedding. I’m sure they still have them and my own now resides in my sons’ bedroom.
THE DOOLEY FIELD PHOTOGRAPH
So, a few weeks back I was on campus taking photographs as I usually do on game days. There’s one spot right at the fork in the road of Sanford Drive and Field Street, which lies on the hill on the southwest side of Sanford Stadium. It’s there where you’ll find the perfect vista to see the Dooley Field signage that is displayed inside Sanford Stadium.
Sanford Stadium was renamed officially to “Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium” back in September 2019. And, even though not many people say the full name - most still just refer to it as Sanford Stadium - everyone knows and reveres the significance of what Vince Dooley did for the University of Georgia football program.
So I took the photo with Dooley Field framed perfectly in between the opening of the trees on both sides as fans began to fill the stadium for the homecoming game versus Vanderbilt. I immediately knew it was going to be a Select Image (select image is what I refer to as a shot that I know I might one day offer as a print).
I had been adding new photo prints in my store last week -some images taken during that homecoming game. But I had not gotten to listing the shot I took of Dooley Field. And, I’m not going to list it for sale. Instead, I want to offer it as a free digital download - a faster way for a fan to be able to receive the artwork, save it to their computer or phone, and print it out.
The edited, full-resolution photograph is available and I would love nothing more than for people like you, who many stumble across this blog post or see it on my social media to download it and have it printed out and hanging in their home, office or Georgia Bulldog room.
We’ll all miss you Coach. Rest In Peace. Thank you for everything you gave to the university and fans of UGA. God Bless you Ms. Barbara, and I think I can speak for the Bulldog Nation that all of our best thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.