March 17, 200818 yr And what a weekend it was. So my group was basically looking at getting there at game time of the UK game. Some guys couldnt get off work and we had to stop and get a friend in Nashville at 5pm ET because he had his first week of work with the Titans and couldnt get off early. We head on our way and stop in Franklin to get gas which makes it my turn to drive. I am getting on it to try to get there a little early or on time. At about 9pm and still a little ways from Atlanta we are watching a ridiculous lighting storm all the way in. As we get into the Atlanta area the rain is just pouring down, I'm having to slow down and dodge the idiot drivers that I have heard about residing in Georgia. We are in contact with some friends keeping us updated on the status of the first game and excited to hear it is going to OT. This is when all hell breaks loose. Everybody's phone in the car just starts blowing up. I'm driving in a downpour so I'm not answering mine and the other guys are telling me they stopped the game because the roof was shaking. At this point we turn on the ATL radio stations and they are talking about tornado warnings, but nothing about tornado's in the area or any touchdowns....
March 17, 200818 yr Author We finally start to make it into downtown and are winding our way around town to the GA Dome. We start getting closer and we start seeing people everywhere outside, on their cell phones, looking up and around. Then we come around the corner and start seeing debris everywhere. We start thinking what the heck. All this is just before 10pm. We start looking for a place to park but have no clue what to do because some traffic is stopped, glass and foam are everywhere, and people are everywhere. We turn down a street a good little walk from the Dome, but we can still see it. We ask some kind of security guard or something on the side of the road where to go to park for the SEC tournament. We still arent really knowing what is going on. She says I wouldnt really go any farther, I dont know that you will have a game to watch, but I would just park and walk because the streets the other way are really slowing down. We park and start walking. We notice some debris, glass, trash cans moved, etc., then we start turning the corner....
March 17, 200818 yr Author That is when we get into the area of the CNN Center, Omni Hotel, Philips arena, etc. There are things fallen on cars everywhere, insulations everywhere you step, glass everywhere you step. I still dont know how I never had a piece of glass jam into my shoes. At this point we have all gotten on the phones and people are telling us an apparent tornado has been there. It's pretty obvious too. We kind of look around a little bit, all the while still trying to get to the Dome (we are hardcore). As we are going by the CNN Center the cops start yelling for everyone to get inside as there is another line of storms coming. We are rushed in there, dodging the crap in the streets and we try to work our way through here to get to the GA Dome still. We eventually get out and on our way and start seeing more of the same along the way. We finally get in and get with friends. Sit down for about 30 minutes and they start the final 2:11 of the other game. Watch it and wait for the UK game, as it seems thing are getting going now. I get up to get something to eat and drink as this has worn me out. Spend 10 bucks on popcorn and a drink and sit back down. This can work up quite an appetite About 15 minutes later I get a text the game is off, followed by an announcement about 5 minutes after that. All the people are leaving and I'm just sitting there because I know it will be another adventure on the way out. They make the announcement to stay, then a little later to leave as the dome is closing in 15 minutes, booing and confusion ensues.
March 17, 200818 yr Author Finally, get out and see how much more has happened. The skywalk at the Omni Hotel has fallen out of the floor and landed on cars. The roof is off that too. All these double paned windows are ripped out. Front signage at the Philips arena is torn off. Olympic Centennial park has the iron bar fencing torn off in many parts. Several of the large columns are torn down in there. Twisted metal is everywhere. Traffic lights are on the ground. Billboards are on cars. Roads are blocked off and we are sent several blocks out of the way to our car. Have I mentioned we were walking on glass and foam insulation very much? Once we get to the car things are pretty much smooth sailing, but what a night it was. My friend actually would have been able to leave work about 20 or 30 minutes early had we gotten to his work early. Are we glad we didnt? I'd say so. We could have been walking in it and hanging onto poles like other people. A friend of one of my friends said her car was lifted off the ground and turned around as she was right outside the dome when it hit. She saw a 250 pound guy hanging onto a pole and being lifted off the ground. It's crazy though thinking how dangerously close we were to being right in the middle of it.
March 17, 200818 yr Author We ended up watching the game at a bar like the rest of the disappointed UK fans and trying to make a weekend out of it while we were there. All of us dont get to hang out together all that often, so we tried to take advantage of it, but things were definitely much different than we expected. On the bright side of things, we will probably get more back on our tickets than we paid because we got our books for significantly less than face value, so hopefully things work out for us on that end. Sorry for being long winded and if it wasnt an interesting enough story, but I wanted there to be documentation for myself somewhere on the net. Thanks for reading...
March 17, 200818 yr We ended up watching the game at a bar like the rest of the disappointed UK fans and trying to make a weekend out of it while we were there. All of us dont get to hang out together all that often, so we tried to take advantage of it, but things were definitely much different than we expected. On the bright side of things, we will probably get more back on our tickets than we paid because we got our books for significantly less than face value, so hopefully things work out for us on that end. Sorry for being long winded and if it wasnt an interesting enough story, but I wanted there to be documentation for myself somewhere on the net. Thanks for reading... Thanks for the info, enjoyed reading it, glad you and your friends were safe. What have you been told about the status of your tickets?
March 17, 200818 yr Author Thanks for the info, enjoyed reading it, glad you and your friends were safe. What have you been told about the satus of your tickets? We are checking SECSports.com religiously to see if they post anything. Nothing as of yet, but there is going to be some type of refund system. I am sure that it will be as difficult as they can make it though, in order to discourage people from doing it. Guess we will find out in the next couple of days.
March 17, 200818 yr bellalumni, it is interesting to hear your story from the vantage point of being outside of the Dome when it happened. It really amplifies all those delays on the road and those extra long stop lights that were probably along the way, and how it could have been a completely different outcome.
March 17, 200818 yr We are checking SECSports.com religiously to see if they post anything. Nothing as of yet, but there is going to be some type of refund system. I am sure that it will be as difficult as they can make it though, in order to discourage people from doing it. Guess we will find out in the next couple of days. Good Luck, thanks again for telling your Atlanta story :thumb:
March 17, 200818 yr Author bellalumni, it is interesting to hear your story from the vantage point of being outside of the Dome when it happened. It really amplifies all those delays on the road and those extra long stop lights that were probably along the way, and how it could have been a completely different outcome. I thought it would be interesting for many to hear, as most stories that people have heard around here have been from those inside the building since UK was about to play.
March 17, 200818 yr From what you saw, could they have played at the Ga Dome Saturday? People hundreds of miles away in Kentucky thought so.
March 17, 200818 yr Author From what you saw, could they have played at the Ga Dome Saturday? People hundreds of miles away in Kentucky thought so. Haha. I read that thread. I saw no terribly noticeable damage while inside. I did notice some damage on the outside, but it was dark and difficult to assess everything as we were walking away from it. The way I see it, it would have been ridiculous to think 30,000 people should descend upon downtown Atlanta that morning as much as anything. There was debris and glass everywhere and the clean up effort would have been seriously hindered, not to mention getting to the Dome. That area of downtown was pretty trashed, so I can imagine it was not a good idea to have the games. Also, want to say in response to some in the other thread, no way this thing was getting played at Philips arena. It was pretty trashed on the outside too. I am sure the concert that was to take place there did not take place either. Anyone heard if the Hawks are effected in any way?
March 17, 200818 yr I heard Phillips Arena was fine other than a little damage on the outside. I don't think it damaged the arena at all. Also heard the SEC is working on refunding tickets ASAP...
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