I like these ideas. At Oldham County, there is a mounted brass bell at one end of the field. It is a bell in reference to the field's name, Bell Field, but it stands in honor of some classmates who died during the school year. The players used to rub it as they came onto the field (didn't so much this year as their new football fieldhouse is on the opposite end of the field, so they enter through a different gate).

 

Good luck to Highlands at finding a solution... a fancy scoreboard with graphics of a cannon going off is a neat idea, too...

Watusi shared these ideas with me the other day. I had been kind of thinking along the same lines. He has some great ideas, and something like them should be considered, if the cannon is taken out of operation. It's presence alone, is a powerful symbol of both the team, and the city's history.

Still an open forum for people to express opinions though, right? None of these opinions will have any effect on the final decision, so it's just people sharing their own personal views in a harmless manner.

I think it's going to come down to what the insurance company says. So, I agree that debating it here will do none of us any good.

I think it's going to come down to what the insurance company says. So, I agree that debating it here will do none of us any good.

 

Well, technically, debating on just about any of BGP's threads do little good. But it is what makes this forum fun.

I also do not want to see the cannon go away and I am sure all the risks will be weighed and a decision will be made.

 

I know the cannon crew does an outstanding job and are extremely careful in how they operate! Accidents can and will happen no matter how careful anyone is.

 

Anytime you are dealing with explosives, there is risk involved. There is risk involved at schools that fire off Class B (1.3G) or Class A (1.2G or 1.1G)fireworks during football games. I guess when one of these blows up on the ground or near spectators, as they inevitably will at some point, those schools will also have to evaluate the acceptable risk.

 

When you strap on a helmet and play football there is risk involved. I am not saying that those risks are the same (although you could argue that football is much more dangerous by examining the number of fatalities that occur). My point is we all make decisions everyday that deal with how much risk is acceptable risk.

I agree. Comments like those are coming from those that didn't grow up with the tradition.

The times they are a changin.........

I also do not want to see the cannon go away and I am sure all the risks will be weighed and a decision will be made.

 

I know the cannon crew does an outstanding job and are extremely careful in how they operate! Accidents can and will happen no matter how careful anyone is.

 

Anytime you are dealing with explosives, there is risk involved. There is risk involved at schools that fire off Class B (1.3G) or Class A (1.2G or 1.1G)fireworks during football games. I guess when one of these blows up on the ground or near spectators, as they inevitably will at some point, those schools will also have to evaluate the acceptable risk.

 

When you strap on a helmet and play football there is risk involved. I am not saying that those risks are the same (although you could argue that football is much more dangerous by examining the number of fatalities that occur). My point is we all make decisions everyday that deal with how much risk is acceptable risk.

 

I guess the question comes down to whether an explosives accident is an acceptable risk at a youth high school football game. And, yep, I'm sure those schools that shoot off fireworks will need to re-think that policy if some accident occurs - if they are not already.

 

Not too sure I follow the logic of comparing the risks of playing in a high school football game to that of firing off a cannon at one of those games. :confused:

I don't know BF, was there ever a determination as to what caused it to misfire during the season? Maybe these 2 incidents/accidents are an indication that the cannon itself if showing it's age. And if so, there may be a chance that this specific cannon is more dangerous today than it was a week ago.

 

I struggle with the fact that this cannon has been in operation since 1968 (according to the linked article) and within a matter of one football season, we've had a misfire (which could have caused an accident) and the accident last week. I prefer to think we have an issue with the cannon, as the other option saddens me to think about.

 

I've grown up with this tradition. I sat in the stands in the mid-70's listening to it blast as LN and the rest of the Bird's marched onto a state championship, I was a manager during the early 80's for those state championship runs and then had the pleasure of running down the steps to it as a player. And now my boys jump in the stands when it fires. It never gets old and I love it dearly. But, for the life of me, I can't convince myself that it should still be fired.

 

I've stayed out of this conversation for reasons that most understand and honestly wish it wasn't transpiring. The determination of what will happen with the cannon will NOT be influenced by what people on here want to happen. That is a fact.

 

As NCBird mentioned, the fate of the cannon was sealed before the incident involving Steve. The insurance group (KSBIT) that insures the schools in Ky. had already decided that it was going to be looking into excluding coverage for cannons because of the liability involved and I am confident they will do so. Which means that any school that permits a cannon to be fired will have no insurance coverage on any claims or liabilities. No responsible school board could allow a cannon to be fired without liability coverage, and as much as I and others love the cannon, its symbolism and tradition, I would have to fully support the school board's decision to not permit the cannon to be fired any longer. I'd hope that most rational people would agree with that.

 

It's been a great run, but as Reignman succinctly pointed out, the loss of the cannon will not break Highlands football program. Highlands football will be Highlands football without the cannon.

 

87Bird, neither this accident nor the misfire that happened earlier in the season were caused by age or condition of the cannon. I can assure you of that.

 

Let's be done with the "discussion" of the future of the cannon. Use your time otherwise spent on debating whether the cannon should go or stay in praying for Steve's speedy and full recovery. It would be a much better use of everyone's time. Thanks.