Why Florida Did What It Wanted

[ATXGator]

it was done, and the emergency personnel were all back home ready to work a football game on Sunday? There were some of the surrounding areas of Gainesville that were still out of power Sunday night. But yeah, the emergency personnel who were with the National Guard working on the flood damage and people effected by it should have been working a football game instead.

There were probably enough emergency personnel at that point that they could have had the game... if not Sunday... Monday night. I wouldn't push it past Monday night, but I at least would have liked to see them keep their options open longer.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

And not to mention we would have been asking LSU to either fly into Gainesville in potentially serious conditions on Friday or come in on Sunday and play a game the same day. Neither of those would have been the right call, either.

 

[Fishon]

That article looks like it was written by one of the self-hating Gators on this site. Probably law with all the Foley hate

 

[Swamp Donkey]

When reading, I imagined the tone in this article as someone who had just had a full quart of strong, stale coffee.

Yeah that dude used to be a travelling vacuum salesman and had a housekeeper, Mama Rex, he banged back in the day.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

That article looks like it was written by one of the self-hating Gators on this site. Probably law with all the Foley hate

Had to give you a dislike bc I supported cancelling the game instead of makig the cops forego hurricane duty and return to Hoggetowne for entertainment, but Im glad youre posting Fish.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Except that by Sunday that was done. They could have played on Sunday. The didn't know that for sure when they made the call, but if they had waited they probably could have gotten it done.

Are you anywhere near the coast? Pretty much everything east of 95 was shutdown in the northern counties all the way through to NC. Cops at every intersection, including mutual aid from pretty much every county in the state. Every power truck, public works truck, a good percentage of fire and rescue from across the state. Georgia was the same.

 

[TheDouglas78]

There were probably enough emergency personnel at that point that they could have had the game... if not Sunday... Monday night. I wouldn't push it past Monday night, but I at least would have liked to see them keep their options open longer.

Both of these were taken with my brother's unit as they were going house to house, can't remember if these were from Saturday or Sunday... but does it look to you like emergency crews could be reserved for a Football game?

 

[ATXGator]

Are you anywhere near the coast? Pretty much everything east of 95 was shutdown in the northern counties all the way through to NC. Cops at every intersection, including mutual aid from pretty much every county in the state. Every power truck, public works truck, a good percentage of fire and rescue from across the state. Georgia was the same.

I am in Texas. I just would have liked to see more flexibility. If they still had to cancel that is fine. I'll admit I don't know how many emergency people it takes for the game and how many were engaged elsewhere, my point is why make the call on Wed instead of giving yourself more options.

 

[OllieGator]

It's a football game. People need some perspective in their lives.

Postponing a couple of days was not the answer. Rescheduling later in the season? Yes.

 

[TheDouglas78]

I am in Texas. I just would have liked to see more flexibility. If they still had to cancel that is fine. I'll admit I don't know how many emergency people it takes for the game and how many were engaged elsewhere, my point is why make the call on Wed instead of giving yourself more options.

The Emergency Crews and Guard units started to gather Wednesday night, for quick deployment. Similar to how the Florida national Guard set up in the panhandle, just awaiting for Katrina to hit to move in as quickly as possible. They knew the amount of emergency crews displaced already by Wednesday night, even if they were called away on Friday Night/Saturday Morning.. that's after some have been in a holding pattern for days. It would be asking a lot of them.

 

[Alagator]

So according to this guy, Jeremy Foley single handedly cancelled the football game.

 

[BNAG8R]

At risk of getting pummeled, I agree with all of the reasons not to play last weekend...but the storm hit NC/SC worse than FL, and that game happened Sunday. Serious question - did we have extenuating circumstances they didn't?

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Geography is fun. Measure how far Columbia is from the coast. Also timing is important. The hurricane sat off the coast in the afternoon (hottest temps therefore strongest winds) off Florida and Ga. SC wasnt hit too hard at all bc the hurricane passed at night. NC wasnt hit too hard, it is actually the rain and delayed flooding causing them problems.

I drove through Columbia on Sat and it had virtually zero damage. You had to get to Orangeburg before you saw any damage.

I guess we could have moved it to Trashahasee or Awbarn.

FVKK Corndogs.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

The Emergency Crews and Guard units started to gather Wednesday night, for quick deployment. Similar to how the Florida national Guard set up in the panhandle, just awaiting for Katrina to hit to move in as quickly as possible. They knew the amount of emergency crews displaced already by Wednesday night, even if they were called away on Friday Night/Saturday Morning.. that's after some have been in a holding pattern for days. It would be asking a lot of them.

Exactly, the crews gettng released first are just now getting back. Many got sent to NC and wont be home.

I have some public safety friends that went who couldnt even find gas, water, or ice til Monday.

Yeah, great idea, pull out all the cops and rescue guys and send them to Gainesville (walking I suppose since gas stations were empty) to hold a game.

Great idea.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

my point is why make the call on Wed instead of giving yourself more options.

To do what? Move it to Trashahassee? Barn? Lexington?

You realize that the projections on Wed and even Fri included all of Florida, Ga, SC and NC within the possible impact zone, right? Hell the model up til about 20 mins before landfall showed it going out to sea, then it did what it wanted and went ashore in NC.

I guess you are getting shyt from some Corndog at work?

 

[ThreatMatrix]

I'm just gonna go out on limb here and say that when the decision was finally made on Thursday to not play that weekend that Florida and the SEC felt like Nov 19th was going to be a no brainer. I don't think we or the SEC thought that LSU was going to put up such a stink about the 19th.

 

[alcoholica]

I don't think there was a drop of gas within an hour of G'ville on Saturday.

Also, Finebaum estimated that it takes more than 3,000 people to work an SEC game. Not sure how many are security

 

[rogdochar]

That cat4-cat5 hurricane was an approaching natural disaster. Even Saturday, while emergency crews
are hustling to get electricity to invalids on life-support? folks working to rescue their homes that trees fell through? Displaced travelers congesting roadways? Let's celebrate a football game with that traffic influx blocking rescue med-techs? Remember, this storm was announced-pronounced as a killer, an incoming predicted big killer.? There was life/death fear driving evacuees.

Let's face it, LSU wanted this game at their home field. That's the opporknockity they're tuned to.
But if that's not doable, then at least they want us to lose our homefield advantage.

 

[deuce]

Writer has a bad case of "Butt Hurt" directed at JF! Foley must have screwed his wife.....

 

[Durty South Swamp]

Writer has a bad case of "Butt Hurt" directed at JF! Foley must have screwed his wife.....

No, he did screw the football program tho.