Operation: Shutdown (Day 16) - How did a 3-point shot save lives?

Note: I am not starting this blog with a "Hello Journal" but rather, a headline.

 

HOW DID A THREE POINT SHOT FROM ONE PERSON WITH JUST 2 SECONDS LEFT IN THE BALLGAME, SAVE 20,000 LIVES IN ATLANTA?

On March 14, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia... The city was going through a very wild weather pattern of severe weather.

At the time as well, the SEC basketball tournament was taking place at the time and the storm still hadn't yet unleashed it's fury on the Georgia Dome yet but it was on it's way... approaching EF-2.

Alabama was down 59-57 with 7 seconds left in the game. After Alabama and Mississippi State took their respective 30-second timeouts. The rest they say is a lifesaver... Mykal Riley of Alabama took a 3-point jump shot and made it to tie the ball game with 2 seconds left...

That one shot put the game into overtime, however Mykal Riley doesn't realize that the shot he made saved more than the 20,000+ attending the game at the Georgia Dome.

After a brief wait, OT was underway and the storm was making its way towards the Georgia dome...

Taken from the National Weather Service

With 2:11 left at overtime in the ball game, the game was stopped with Mississippi State leading 64-61. The winds were howling and the facade of the Georgia Dome was getting tore up in a few spots due to the high wind speed. Officials stopped the game to get everyone to safety and also the players out of danger during the storm. If you look, the tornado's path was not very far from the Georgia Dome.

Cited - Taken from Kentucky Media

 Damage to the Interior of the Georgia Dome

The feed from the game was cut off and TV stations had to rush to alternate programming or if you were in Atlanta at time, switch over to weather to keep abreast of the storm's intensity and path.

After a 63-minute wait, the game was resumed and Mississippi State went on to win the game in OT. However, one person doesn't understand what his 3-point shot did...

Mykal Riley doesn't realize it but he is a lifesaver. He saved countless amounts of lives by making that 3 point shot to tie the basketball game.

It's really quite stunning to say the least that people really don't recognize this accomplishment by this ONE person.

But what would have happened had Mykal Riley missed that shot? Would people already realized that the storm was bad enough to stay indoors? Would there have been many more fatalities than the 3 recorded? Those are some of the what if's that I'm glad we can say cannot be answered.

But... this shot from one person was a total miracle moment that saved a lot of lives and prevented the death toll from the storm from going even higher than it should because of people filtering out of the Georgia Dome.

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The Atlanta tornado complex had 45 reported tornadoes:
14 confirmed as an EF-0
19 confirmed as an EF-1
9 confirmed as an EF-2
3 confirmed as an EF-3

Damages were just over $400 million with several buildings seeing shattered glass and severe damaged. The West Peachtree hotel saw 250 windows get shattered. Centennial Olympic Park was heavily damaged. The CNN Center had serious damage as well.

All in all, this storm could've seen a higher fatality mark had it not been for a 3-point shot that saved 20,000 lives inside the Georgia dome.

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That's all it took... a 3-point shot... to save the lives of many from a howling wind that was right outside their door step.

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Well everyone, guess what, Operation: Shutdown is over..

"Until the next post, I'm signing off..."
~ Joshua