Duck Snorts. My South Carolina friends, family, and fanatics will appreciate the tip of the hat....or feather as it were..... to their remarkable former baseball coach, now Athletic Director, Ray Tanner and his personally coined phrase.....I assume it is his; I had never heard it before.
Tanner deemed duck snorts those special bounces of a ball your way, the sometimes unexpected, often unearned little pieces of luck that when combined with undeniable talent and preparation turned his teams into NCAA champions twice over and oh so close to a third. I love that. Tanner is too smart not to know that it takes a few 'duck snorts' to accomplish something special. It always does.
This morning, I heard an old, really really old....I would guess circa 1950.....interview with favorite of mine the late, great Andy Griffith. Andy was asked by the wonderful Edward R. Murrow what it took to make it, as Andy had, in a relatively short period of time. Andy's response with his slow southern drawl, perpetually twinkling eyes, and huge toothy grin was, "You've gotta have the talent when the time comes to carry the ball. But there's a lot of luck involved....being in the right place at the right time...being ready."
Ray Tanner would agree with Andy's homespun wisdom, and with possible exception to Andy's reference to football instead of baseball, they may be saying the same thing. What Andy called luck, Tanner called duck snorts. Either way, they can make all the difference, can't they? Both Andy and Ray were wise enough, and honest enough, to admit it.
Football season is upon us, and although first articulated by a baseball man, I "dee"-finitely think the duck snort will transfer, or should I say waddle, easily over to the pigskin setting. What's the saying, "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...." I am thinking this season it might be a duck snort that is that makes all the difference. I am hoping it might be possible for a Tiger team to experience a few of those sometimes elusive duck snorts....that call that maybe shouldn't have gone your way but did.....that ball that bounces off three defenders into the hands of your receiver for a touchdown.....the extra point blocked that gives you a one point win. Surely Gamecocks and Panthers are hoping the same. Per Andy's recipe, our big three may be in "the right place at the right time, ready with the talent when their time comes to carry the ball." In these parts, they carry more than a football. They carry the nearly frenetic hopes of hundreds of thousands of rabid fans. The question just might be are they lucky enough to garner a duck snort or two. At any rate, let's tee it up, kick it off.....my favorite time of year. Go Ducks.....Go Teams. Let's Do This!
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