I'm a little late on this, but since returning from our annual trip to the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, I have been so busy with work, I haven't been able to chronicle my trip here on my blog. So, now that I have a few minutes, here goes...
Brandon and his mom, dad and sister were in Myrtle Beach the entire week at a food show. Carter and I did not go because it is always cold this time of year and I had no way of getting Carter back to my parent's house to watch him for us during the tournament. I took Carter to Lexington on Wednesday night and left for Atlanta on Thursday late-morning. It was actually a nice drive down. It took me less than 6 hours and I was able to listen to all sorts of great talk-radio all the way there, which really excited me. I got there in time to see the 2 evening games- I only missed 1 session- YES! I know it's weird, but I actually like watching all of the other teams play. I like routing against our rival teams, and the SEC tournament wouldn't be any fun without a little heckling! This year, the Tennessee fans were the target, as they were the most annoying fans there. They had NO CLUE about basketball. They kept calling insane fouls and everything to them was a "carry". Brandon said it was just because they are used to only watching football. The most annoying thing they did though, was during their game versus South Carolina, of course we were routing against the Vols, the fans in orange around us kept shouting "Gardner Webb", of course referring to our embarrassing loss early in the season. I couldn't help by remind them that first of all, Gardner Webb wasn't playing right then and second of all, we beat them (UT) once, so I guess that makes them an embarrassment, too. It was too much fun!
Since we were sitting in the Vandy section, although if you have ever been, you know that really every section is a UK section, we made friends with a family from Nashville. It was a dad, his 11 year old daughter and 7 and 5 year old sons. I absolutely loved that little girl. She was so cute. She told me she was for UT and Vandy because she was just proud that both teams from her state made it to the tourney. I didn't have the heart to tell her that ALL the SEC teams get to play. Anyway, Friday was a great day- eating in the CNN Center, chanting CATS, CATS, CATS with all the other UK fans and enjoying time with Brandon. As time grew closer to our game, we knew that storms were supposed to be rolling in, but we never really thought another thing about it. It wasn't until overtime in the Miss. St/Alabama game that things really got fun and those storms became a reality! The little girl I mentioned from Vandy and I were talking, and all of a sudden, there was a really loud rumbling noise. It sounded a lot like thunder and I asked her if she thought that's what it was. We settled upon that and started talking again. Then...there it was again...only louder. This time, I looked at her and said, "We shouldn't be able to hear thunder like that in here." All of a sudden, three panels from the inside of the dome peeled back and banged against the inside of the upper arena. During the next few minutes, it was a surreal scene. The large screen hanging from the top of the dome was rotating, the lighting hanging over the court was swaying, the temporary seats (where my sister-in-law and her husband were sitting) started shaking (party from the storm, partly from the people trying to get the heck off of them), the scaffolding the camera crew was on was swaying and debris was falling from the top of the dome. Many, many people started running from their seats in the dome to the areas where the concession stands are. Lots of people were hunkered down in the bathrooms. I guess I just stood there in awe and terror watching all of this and when I figured it all out, I wanted to run, too. Brandon was afraid the stampede of people would trample us, so he wanted us to stay put. NO WAY! I was out of there and under a concrete beam with, of all people, a UT fan! I think it was one I had words with earlier in the day- oh well. Right now, I was just concerned about dying in the Georgia Dome without even getting to see the CATS play! Actually, I felt pretty safe in that structure made of concrete, as long as I wasn't under the tarp for a roof that was literally waving above us.
I stayed back there for what seems like forever and finally Brandon appeared. Everyone in that place was on their cell phone so I couldn't get a line out. The UT fan beside me was able to make a call, and he confirmed that it had been a tornado that had caused all of this havoc. During all of this time, and for the 2+ hours that followed, the TV screens in the dome were telling us there was severe weather in the area and to stay put in the dome. It was claimed that they came over the intercom and said the dome had been checked and it was safe. No one I have talked to ever heard that announcement. Finally, they agreed it was safe for Miss St and Alabama to finish their game. Alabama came back out flat and that was it- Miss St had won. The UK fans started chanting and we were revving up for our game, being told it might be midnight before it started. With all of the people on their cell phones and all of the blackberries going wild, including mine, we soon found out that there was more severe weather coming our way. I retreated again to the bathroom and watched the weather channel with other women and scared children. When I got back to my seat, the guy behind me must have had the fastest Internet available and just as he was saying our game would be postponed, the announcer told us the same thing. And then the booing began. And yes, the other fans there would say we (the UK fans) acted terrible, but I think it was well within line. We (10,000 of us strong) had come from all over the Big Blue Nation, probably spent the most money on food and lodging, and we were the only fans who didn't get to see their team play. Not fair! And with this announcement, it was also announced that the dome would be closing in 15 minutes and we should all get the heck out. Well, those weren't the words but it felt that way. After hours of them telling us to stay in for safety, suddenly they had made their decision and since they couldn't sell us anymore overpriced snacks, we were to get out and watch the broken glass, flying stop signs and desk chairs on our way out. We left, grumbling.
When we got outside, the destruction was amazing. It was still slightly raining and windy. I have attached some pictures from that night, although most of them are dark because many of the outside lights and lights from within the World Congress Center and CNN Center were out. I guess it was about 2am before we got into bed that night. We stayed in the hotel lobby for a long time trying to figure out where our car was and if it was OK, and if more weather came through, where we would go. Every noise that night made me jump up out of bed! I spent most of the night checking my blackberry for info on the Cats game. I finally read in the middle of the night (it was actually early Saturday morning, but it felt like the middle of the night) that it was to be at Georgia Tech and the chance of us fans getting in was slim...no, make that non-existent. So, we made the best of an awful situation and watched it there in our room. I tried to do the C-A-T-S cheer, but with just Brandon and I, it wasn't the same. After our loss, we slept most of the day. That is until I heard some sirens going off outside, and yes, it was another tornado. So I ran down the stairs and into a ballroom with all of 6 other people and Brandon trailing behind only to pacify me. That lasted all of 10 minutes. After that, we went out to survey the damage and to find something to eat. You can see the random windows out in the really tall buildings and practically every window out in the CNN Center side of the Omni Hotel.
We came home on Sunday to an excited little boy, which made all of the craziness and disappointment seem to disappear and remind us what really matters- our family. Sorry for the long post. I wanted to get my story out of my head. Maybe now I can put it to rest.
