Ironic that they were both named Patrick. I have different feelings about each of them. With Sully it was a childhood adoration that never faltered, never wained, and was never stained by anything he did as an adult. He was humble. He was a gentleman. He was a devoted husband and father. All things I would like to be and try to be. I stood and still stand in awe of Pat Sullivan, the athlete and the man
With Coach Dye it is different. With him there is gratitude to the deliverer from the shadow of Bryant and Tuscaloosa. My four years at AU were the last of the Barfield years. Coach Dye was introduced the January before I graduated and I was disappointed because I had hopes of Vince Dooley coming home. In the end it was best for Dooley to stay at UGA and Coach Dye to come to us. It made what was a great rivalry even better for the years they stood across the field from one another. Coach Dye was the right man at the right time for Auburn. Energetic, driven and unafraid. He had his faults, as we all do, and many of us have been disappointed in some of the things that happened after he retired, but no one can downplay what he means to Auburn. Without Pat Dye, we might still be just talking about the second upper deck. Without Pat Dye, there's no Bo Jackson or Frank Thomas in Auburn lore. Without Pat Dye, we would have continued to go to B'ham for many years beyond 1989. Without Pat Dye, Auburn is not recognized as one of the perrennial powers of the SEC today. There is so much more.
I adored Pat Sullivan. I admired and respected and am forever grateful to Pat Dye. We've lost two different kinds of legends since Thanksgiving. I hate it.
