It’s extremely rare for a tornado to hit a bustling city’s downtown area. But it has indeed happened, and some examples are Dallas’s 1894 EF2, Nashville’s 1933 EF3, or, as this section is on, Atlanta’s 2008 EF3.

On the night of March 14, 2008, at precisely 9:40 PM EST, a tornado struck downtown Atlanta and hit the Georgia Dome, which was hosting the SEC Alabama vs. Mississippi State Basketball game. The tornado caused the stadium to shake, and insulation fell because two holes were torn in the outside. The catwalks and scoreboards fell and swayed because of this. This would’ve caused people to be killed by the tornado.

That is, if not for Mykal Riley.

You see, Riley shot at what may be the best-timed overtime commencement in history. His shot tied the score and took the game into overtime, which saved lives because people were kept safe in the stadium. After 64 minutes, the game was completed, but due to the bad weather, the next game (Kentucky vs. Georgia) was postponed.

This is one of the many examples of one little thing going a LOOOOOOOOONG way in recent history. Who knows, with global warming, this thing may become more common…

(P.S. Sorry for the delay! I went to Kansas City and returned home at 11:00 PM, which was far too late for a post like this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )