Georgia’s sugar bowl aspirations hit a clog when New Orleans mourned, a gut-wrenching tragedy due to an alleged terrorist attack. The game got postponed from Wednesday to Thursday, and all the players, coaches, and the people involved quickly shifted their focus to praying for the 15 deceased souls and all those injured victims and their families. But little did they know, another tragic prayer would be added to their lists sooner than they could see.

Kirby Smart has felt the collective cry of all the aggrieved families a little more deeply and personally as he lost his father, Sonny Smart, early Saturday morning.

Kirby Smart’s family asked for a fan favor amidst the crisis 

Yes, you heard it right. Double catastrophe loomed over the University of Georgia, and the prayers for the terrorist attack victims suddenly no longer felt like a duty but a deepest condolence from the heart, at least for the veteran head coach. Kirby Smart’s father, Sonny Smart’, died at the age of 76 as a result of complications during hip surgery.

As per the official UGA statement, “Sonny fell while walking during the day on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans and fractured his hip. He was hospitalized and underwent hip surgery; unfortunately, complications arose. He fought valiantly but was unable to overcome his injuries.” Sonny had traveled to New Orleans to watch Kirby’s Bulldogs take on Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

Per reports, Kirby Smart was in the hospital with his father on January 1 after the Bowl game was postponed after the Bourbon Street attack. While Sonny’s passing was not related to the mass attack of Wednesday, the Smart family approached the fans to keep all the victims in their prayers as an act of humanity in this tough time. The coach is undergoing a massive misfortune and we wish him all the strength and luck to cope with the fate.

Sonny Smart had been nothing short of a cornerstone in his son’s life and career. No matter how big wins Kirby sees and steers in his storied coaching resume, his principal philosophy still dates back to what his father, a prized high school head coach, taught him in childhood.

Sonny Smart has imprinted a lasting impression on his son’s DNA

”He’s taught me so much just about the way you handle things, the right way, the wrong way,” Kirby said. “Control the controlables. The moment’s never too big if you’re prepared. And I always watched the way he prepared our teams and our staff in high school. He was a very wise man, a man of few words. I tried to follow his mantra as a coach,’‘ the Georgia QB broke down his secret recipe to a high-flying success.

Sonny, the super dad of a superstar coach, not only just enriched his child theoretically, rather he used to be a constant presence in almost all the Georgia matchups. When it’s a home game at Athens, it turns into a family get-together afterwards, but even if it’s outside Georgia, the Bainbridge High School coach barely missed witnessing his son’s victory live on the field.

Back in January 2023, Sonny couldn’t make it to the national championship game between the Georgia Bulldogs and TCU Horned Frogs because of a glaring medical issue. The rare absence of his parents on the field marred the joy of an overwhelming 65-7 win for Coach Kirby Smart. He has one of the biggest phobias in his life to watch his parents grow old, unfortunately, life pulled the rug on his fear in the most brutal way possible this morning.

It’s oddly demotivating that the 49-year-old won’t get to see his father in the audience from now onwards. But hopefully, he will get rid of the pain with time and be able to put his father’s intangibles in his memory while continuing to soar higher for the Bulldogs.

The Dawgs are done for the season after a Notre Dame quarter-final loss. But don’t forget to keep your fingers crossed for the approaching year and coach Kirby Smart’s much-needed comeback to the sidelines.