Sep 2, 2008
Hurricanes, Generic
I've been asked a number of times already today... "Why in the world would a school change their football game today based on a forecast that could change 100 times between now and Friday?"
There are a number of factors that go into this.
First, the forecast is uncertain. Based on the current track, we're expecting rain and wind, but nothing like Hurricane Fran in 1996. But what if the storm suddenly intensified and changed course? We could see a greater impact here in North Carolina.
If any of you have been in North Carolina for major hurricanes, you know how bad they can be. I was talking to Bobby Guthrie, the Wake County athletic director, at the Leesville Road-Cary game last Thursday, and ironically, we were talking about Fran's impact on high school football.
Guthrie said they missed the first Friday after Fran hit, and there were serious questions about whether or not they would be able to play the following week. Players couldn't practice because no one could get out of their neighborhoods and school was closed, and when games were postponed, schools didn't know how to make up the games because of all of the missed class.
So, if coaches and school officials can get games in before a potential hurricane strikes they can try to avoid some of these issues.
Second, if you give people enough time to change their plans and get the word out, a school will probably have a better gate. High school athletic departments need to make as much money as possible, and when you lose a football game, you lose a lot of money for the rest of the sports at the school.
Something else to keep in mind is the fact that the center of the storm doesn't have to come directly across your area to have an impact. The weathermen always say the front-right quadrant is the worst. Well, on the current track, the Triangle will be in the front-right quadrant of the storm. That's where you get the heaviest rain, the strongest winds, and tornados. We don't want to put players out in the middle of that.
Whether we have a few clouds or a full-out hurricane, schools are erring on the side of caution and moving their games up to Thursday.
HighSchoolOT.com is keeping a running tab on these games, and of course WRAL is keeping you updated on Hanna. If you have a game change for us, call us at 1-888-472-9725 and leave a message. You can also send an e-mail to me at stevens@ncsportsreport.com, or to our HighSchoolOT.com editor Tim Candon at tcandon@wral.com.
No matter when these games take place, we'll have you covered here on HighSchoolOT.com!
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