By By Adam Robinson
Sports Editor
Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.
With the past few days of rain and severe weather that has affected our area, many of you have probably been singing this song.
The recent weather in our area has put area coaches in a tizzy. Games being canceled and then having to call and reschedule those games and other things are just the few things that have crossed the minds of the coaches.
The other Thursday night, one of the first or second nights of the rain (we had so many there in a row, I had forgot when it was), I was sitting in the bed listening to the rain hit the roof and hearing the thunder and seeing the bright flickers of lightning and started thinking about all the sporting events being canceled.
The thought that popped in my head was that if this was football season, the games would have went on and been played. And you know what, people would have been there to sit out there and watch them.
Yes, I am one of those.
But seriously, how come if it is rainy weather during football season, football gets played but other sports don’t?
Now I know that if it is lightning and thundering, it would not be played, but what makes football so different?
One game came to my mind.
During the class 3A state playoffs this past season, T.R. Miller was set to play Cordova in the semifinals of the playoffs at home the Thursday after Thanksgiving.
It had stormed all day and was storming at game time and even stormed until the end of the first quarter.
Guess what?
The game was played like it was sun shining out and you know what? There was no talk of lets play this game on Saturday.
I am not saying that football should be canceled due to the rain, but why do other sports not go on?
Troy University had a baseball game canceled due to snow this year and I can understand that. First, we are in the south and snow is a rarity and second, if you have not noticed, a baseball is white and so is snow.
I am sure T.R. Miller Tiger fans remember the “Mud Bowl” in the 1995 state championship game at Alexandria that the Tigers lost 18-13. I think there was also a game dubbed the “Fog Bowl” also that they may remember.
One of our coaches told me that when the weather is bad in baseball and softball and other spring sports, the officials worry about safety, but it is OK to play in football.
Now he may have been joking or he could have been serious, but either way his statement was true.
I know football is the king in Alabama and in the south, but why is it different.
I am not knocking on football. I love football. Like I said earlier, I would have been out there covering it and I have been out there as a spectator. I do not enjoy it, but I would have been out there.
I have played in conditions like that before also. Let me say, I have never played organized football, but my last year in Babe Ruth in our all star baseball tournament we played in a steady downpour and in the mud and we lost on a “homerun.”
I put quotes around homerun, because the ball bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double, but was ruled a homerun by an umpire that stood at third base and did not go and see the ball go over the fence.
It was hard to see and our outfielder at the time, Patrick Byrne, put his hand in the air to signal it bounced over but it did not work and we lost by one run.
No, we should have not been playing in those types of conditions, but we did. It was not ideal, but we did it.
Should they have called the game? I think so, but if it were football they would have played it for sure.
So, as long as there is no rain in the spring, I should see you at the game, but rain or shine in football…see you there!
I want to wish all area teams the best of luck in their games this week and until we meet again here or out in the world of sports, God bless.