UGA VI Obituary
Hey Everyone,
Hope you had a great 4th. Again, I realize my blogging has been insanely inconsistent, and the content has been … well, “less than on topic”. I wonder … does anybody care? Have those who do care already unsubscribed from my blog? Probably so - I’ve noticed a dip in readers, and a dip in commentors. Oh well, I will try and get back in rhythm next week.
Weekends aren’t big for traffic and readers anyway, so thought I’d post yet another off-topic post, but relative to my life and love .. my Georgia Bulldogs. Thanks to Travis for forwarding this article to me via email. It’s a bit sad.
UGA VI Obituary (Loran’s article, published 6/29/08)
My friend Uga VI is dead.
His death is not exactly a shock—he was old for a Bulldog—but the news hit hard. Of all the Georgia mascots, he was the most special for a special reason. He was named for me. I can remember when his owner, Sonny Seiler, called nearly ten years ago and told me that Uga VI’s kennel name would be “Whatchagot Loran.” Naturally, I was overwhelmed. You can only imagine the feelings I got when I would see him on the sideline. When he took the field with the cheerleaders, good feelings washed over me. I couldn’t help it. When the network cameras would focus on him, it made me proud and stimulated feelings of great affection. I was immodestly given to pointing out our connection to sideline announcers like Tracy Wolfson of CBS and Holly Rowe of ESPN. I was there when his grandfather put on a tux for the Heisman trophy banquet when Herschel Walker was awarded college football’s highest individual honor. I went fishing with his grandfather, too. On Sonny’s boat, Silver Britches. Once when I went to see his great-grandfather at the Selier’s home on Dutch Island, he wet my pants leg. “You are now a member of the family,” Sonny laughed. While I have known all the Uga’s and have celebrated countless Georgia victories—milestone wins like eight SEC titles and the 1980 national championship—Uga VI, the biggest of the Uga’s, was the one I spent the most time with.
Last summer, I went to see the Seilers and stayed overnight. Uga VI slept down the hall and kept waking me up with his heavy snoring. I didn’t mind. He would snore and then awake with some sort of garbled grunting sound. I think I could make out what he was saying. “To Hell with Tech.”
Saturday, Sonny called with the news about Uga VI’s death. It was a disheartening call. I felt that I had lost a close friend. And I had. This was news I had not anticipated, thinking that we would have one last season together this fall. He would have been ten years old if he had lived another three weeks. That’s a long life for a bulldog. Nevertheless, it hurts to give him up.
Losing your namesake who is universally popular with college football fans across the country brings a tear to your eye. You see, Uga was important to those who follow the game—not just the passionate Georgia fans. It was always uplifting to see fans of other schools, with their team colors prominently displayed, stop to have their photos made with Uga.
Over the years when I traveled and my relationship with the Bulldogs surfaced, there was always considerable interest in Georgia football. There was Herschel Walker of course. You lead a team to the national championship and win the Heisman trophy and football fans know plenty about you and your school.
People have always been interested in the hedges. They find the hedges attractive. The hedges bring about sentiment. Usually the stands and the playing field are separated by a stale and nondescript fence of some sort.
The thing that most nonpartisan fans you meet in other sections of the country are most intrigued by is the reverence we hold for our mascots. They find the treatment of Uga fascinating.
They are amused by the big red fireplug, which was Uga’s chariot for escorting him to the sidelines for years. Unfortunately, that tradition has become inactive—mainly because the fireplug is too heavy to manage and manipulate. For Uga’s sake we need to find a manageable fireplug. What is more amusing to people everywhere than a fireplug and a dog?
Football fans everywhere are charmed by the fact that the Ugas are buried in Sanford Stadium. Once on a trip to Phoenix, I had lunch with Chip Wisdom who had played and coached at Georgia and wound up with an assistant’s job at Arizona State. “People out here,” Chip said, “are overwhelmed by the fact that all of Georgia’s mascots are buried in Sanford Stadium. That is something that they really find interesting.”
On Monday the Seiler family will bring Uga VI to Athens for interment in the Uga family cemetery at the southwest corner of the stadium, just a few feet from the famous hedges.
As we say goodbye to Uga VI, I propose a toast to former Athletic Director Joel Eaves. He was the one who suggested to the Seilers that Uga I be buried in the stadium. As time went by, Uga I’s descendants got the same treatment. Every home game, the Seiler family drives its big red station wagon down to the stadium and takes a bouquet of flowers over to the cemetery containing all the Uga gravesites in memory of the mascots buried there.
On August 30th when Georgia plays Georgia Southern to begin a new season, I think I will ask the Seilers if I can place the bouquet in the Uga cemetery. In memory of my namesake. My friend, Uga VI.
A damn good dawg.
