...Earlier in the week I was discussing weather delays with another poster in recalling the 1983 Iron Bowl. Nowadays, the SEC rule is that any lightning strike within eight miles of a stadium initiates an automatic delay or suspension of play for 30 minutes. If there happens to be another strike during that delay, it gets pushed back even further.
Eight miles is a long, long ways off. In Mobile, that's nearly the distance from downtown to the city's western border. Were you that far from an airport, you would have no idea the facility existed as you would neither see nor hear its air traffic. To be specific, we're talking about 200 square miles of territory around a stadium in which any bolt can halt activity.
Under an NCAA-recommended half-hour delay in 2011, Oklahoma State and Tulsa didn't kick off until after midnight, not finishing play until 3:35 a.m. The game was almost canceled.
Last year's Florida-Idaho game wasn't as lucky. It was terminated after a weather delay.
Do you think this area is too large? Do you foresee it becoming more problematic in the future, especially with its effect on TV coverage and the growing power of television networks over the game and how its governed?
Eight miles is a long, long ways off. In Mobile, that's nearly the distance from downtown to the city's western border. Were you that far from an airport, you would have no idea the facility existed as you would neither see nor hear its air traffic. To be specific, we're talking about 200 square miles of territory around a stadium in which any bolt can halt activity.
Under an NCAA-recommended half-hour delay in 2011, Oklahoma State and Tulsa didn't kick off until after midnight, not finishing play until 3:35 a.m. The game was almost canceled.
Last year's Florida-Idaho game wasn't as lucky. It was terminated after a weather delay.
Do you think this area is too large? Do you foresee it becoming more problematic in the future, especially with its effect on TV coverage and the growing power of television networks over the game and how its governed?
