The 2009 Shrine Bowl ended with 10:32 remaining in the second quarter — a 3-3 tie that will allways remain a game of what could have been.
Severe weather forced the game’s premature ending. Tornado warnings were issued for Natrona County during the game, as were severe thunderstorm warnings.
The decision to take the teams off the field and clear the stands proved to be the right move about a half-hour after the game ended. The game was called off at 8:09 p.m.; by 8:30, lightning was popping all around Cheney Alumni Field, and by 8:50 lightning and hail made any outdoor activity potentially life-threatening.
The shame is that by 10 p.m., the storm had moved east and the game could have continued.
The game was called by the Casper Police Department, who had to make a decisive choice. They went with safety, and by 9 p.m. that looked like the right move.
By 10 p.m., it looked like they could have waited.
The problem came not with the players finding safety on the field — it came with the fans finding safety off of it. Getting more than 2,000 people organized and safe is a problem, especially when you consider that most of these fans had no place to hide when the storm approached. During one first-quarter delay, which ate up about 25 minutes before play resumed, about 1/4 of the fans remained in the bleachers because there was nowhere for them to go — the bowels of Cheney Alumni Field, as well as the halls of Natrona County High School, were already filled with fans waiting out the delay.
It’s unfortunate that if the game had been less popular, it might have been able to be finished.
That said, the Shriners will still come out ahead — the crowd, and therefore the gate and the donation to the Shriners Hospital, was outstanding.
Those that will suffer are those who win only if the game rolls on — the booster clubs from NC and KW running the concession stands, the t-shirt and sweatshirt salespeople and the advertisers who missed out on their in-game promotions.
Everyone who was a part of this game deserved to see it finished. But everyone who was a part of this game also deserved to be safe. And I think I’d rather be disappointed than unsafe.
–patrick