College football fans should all be Vince Dooley fans this week

One of college football’s legendary coaches, Vince Dooley, is having the field at Georgia’s Sanford Stadium named after him this week, and everyone should be a fan.

College football is full of rivalry, bitterness, arguments, finger-pointing, family-busting and — in some cases — outright hatred. Some teams have been at each other’s throats for over a century, and for that matter, some families as well.

But the beautiful thing about college football is that, as a group, fans are a big family. It’s a sport treated with such reverence and tribute that it can transcend religion, race, gender and yes…even politics.

This week, that extended family will see one of its greatest ever, legendary former Georgia head coach Vince Dooley, finally being given the honor and immortalization he has deserved for so long by having the field at Sanford Stadium named after him.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of Tennessee, Auburn (where Dooley has long-standing ties), Alabama, Georgia Tech or (pauses briefly)…even Florida. You should be glad to see Dooley’s name being attached to the field at the house of football worship known as Sanford Stadium.

If Dooley’s Dawgs beat your team, he helped make you better. And, if on the rare occasion you got the best of the Head Dawg in Charge, then you can notch one that few teams were able to do. There are few fans out there who are familiar with Vince Dooley who didn’t wish, at least for a while, that he was their coach.

College football fans hate their rivals, but they also recognize and respect greatness, loyalty, and class – things that Vince Dooley always has and will represent. Just as Dooley always respected and propped up his opponents, the favor was largely returned.

A ceremony like this goes beyond those rivalries. It’s a chance for fans from every school where Dooley made his mark (be it with wins or losses) to look back and remember those glory days. A time when tearaway jerseys, clotheslines, and end zone celebrations were still part of the game. A time when players and coaches alike were loyal to their institutions until it was simply time to leave.

And now, we can all celebrate and tip our hats to one of the greatest to ever prowl a sideline or lead an athletic program.

I’m part of a generation who saw nearly all of Dooley’s tenure at Georgia, and there are a couple of generations who follow me that saw the last part of his coaching career or who simply hear his name constantly mentioned with great piety.

But after that, there are some (and I’ve actually met some of these poor deprived souls) who don’t know who Vince Dooley is, other than “the old guy they show on TV when Georgia plays a big game”.

It’s heartbreaking, I know.

But now, as of September 7, 2019, the Georgia legend will be forever immortalized in the place he called home for 40 years. Every time the Bulldogs play a home game, it will officially be in “Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium”.

Doesn’t that just sing?

Georgia fans will be absolutely jacked this weekend, despite the actual game being against FCS sacrificial lamb, Murray State, and fans from all over the SEC and other conferences will cheer on Coach Dooley as he’s given this tremendous honor.

Forget all the political hurdles which had to come before this day of celebration. Forget past university presidents who scraped Dooley off their Berlutis like chewed bubblegum at the curb of Broad Street in Athens. That’s all in the past, and as of September 7, that field belongs to Vince Dooley, and college football should celebrate that.

(By the way, if you’d like to really learn about Vince Dooley and his time at Georgia, the autobiography, Dooley, My 40 Years at Georgia with Tony Barnhart is the book to read.)