Could the Game be Postponed?

[WhiteBus]

I think a big difficulty in the decision is that the Raritan hasn't crested yet. It's already above record at Manville and headed for it at Bound Brook. Can you imagine if the river crested as.people arrive or during the game and Johnson Park started flooding with cars parked all over?
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=phi&gage=bdkn4

No cars allowed to park at Johnson Park. Announced yesterday.

 

[DJ Spanky]

If you play tonight, you risk sabotaging goodwill (people can’t make it, cars get stuck in muddy lots, opportunists criticize priorities, etc etc).

If you play tomorrow or Saturday, you lose tonight’s high visibility game slot.

If you play Sunday, you have a quick turnaround for Cuse.

No good answer

Kind of a "Damned if you, damned if you don't" situation.

If Temple is already here and their bus can make the trip the game could be played.

I think if they can get the logistics worked out for whoever has to be at the game, they'll play it.

 

[Ridge 22]

Not sure what your intent was here but I was responding to a poster who did not seem aware that JP parking had already been shut down.

Just meant that Johnson park closing due to rain could have been foreseen about a week ago. Not sure how anyone actually going to the game could be surprised by that.

 

[mdk02]

Didn’t we play on a Sunday then a Thursday one of those years after ESPN started hating on us?

No. I believe Saturday Night - Thursday

 

[kmsnyg]

Hope they move to Sunday. Supposed to leave for drive up 95 to Jersey in a hour, so hope they make decision soon. Feel horrible for those dealing With flooding, my brother lost his house in Sandy and took years to recover. Thankfully was spared this time.

 

[Morrischiano2]

We should play Friday evening. Any HS games can be pushed to Sunday.

 

[e5fdny]

I think if they can get the logistics worked out for whoever has to be at the game, they'll play it.

And it doesn’t have to be everyone either.

Enough to get the job done should do it. They don’t stop the game if they go down an official or if the clock isn’t working.

Having people in the stands to watch is the least of the concerns here.

 

[mdk02]

It's not only the flooding but the crazy amount of abandoned cars all over the highways

Some abandoned cars on Rte 4 just west of 17 and on low lying roads all over Bergen County. However almost all the roads are now passable. The abandoned cars are more of a problem than the water.

 

[mildone_rivals]

Then that last part is poor planning on Rutgers. As it’s not like the Raritan has never shown up at the “front door” before, right?

And it doesn’t have to be everyone either. If enough support folks can get there no reason not to play.

Yes and no (about the poor planning). My understanding is that it has been historically very rare that water reached as high as the stadium. Might not today either, although the forecast looks bad.

If electrical and other infrastructure was already down there, then it could be cost prohibitive to relocate it. The cost/benefit analysis, given the rarity of the problem, could've pointed to just leaving it where it is and dealing with it once a decade or so when it's a problem.

OTOH, this storm was very unusual, along with having two large tornadoes in NJ in two weeks. If there is indeed critical infrastructure at the lowest levels of the stadium, changing weather patterns could potentially force a change. Probably not due to this one event. But if it happens again in the next few years, perhaps.

 

[fg7321]

Some people have jobs that they have to get to. Like police, firefighters, EMS, medical personnel and other critical services. It is a shame you think that they are idiots.

What is wrong with people that a storm and flooding brings out the worst that they start lashing out and insulting people they don't know and don't know their circumstances?

Be kind and be better.

Please I'm not talking about first responders Only essential workers should be on the road right now. My wife left for work in Nursing home today like she has every day never missing a day in every storm or covid day.

Other people should not be on the road

 

[RU from Jersey_rivals]

It seems obvious that if the game is played tonight there will be no fans. Now the question is can you move the game to Friday, Saturday or Sunday so that fans can attend and BTN televise it.

 

[WhiteBus]

I wonder how the stadium itself handled the rain water.

It is a big *** bowl. How much stuff is at "field level" Or a foot or 2 (3, 4? more?)above that level?

The stadium field level is well above flood stage. If you ever entered from River Road you would remember walking uphill quickly and steeply.

 

[DHajekRC84]

Please I'm not talking about first responders Only essential workers should be on the road right now. My wife left for work in Nursing home today like she has every day never missing a day in every storm or covid day.

Other people should not be on the road

Think of all the folks Rutgers will need to get there to support operations, parking, concessions, ticket takers ..ooops, I mean "scanners". Many of them students or older folks. And then the LEOs (new acronym I learned thanks to Mild) who should be doing other stuff today.

 

[hinson32]

That's actually not a bad idea. Sunday night college game?ND at Florida State is Sunday night.

 

[Jtung230]

It seems obvious that if the game is played tonight there will be no fans. Now the question is can you move the game to Friday, Saturday or Sunday so that fans can attend and BTN televise it.

You can bet the GS is working on it.

 

[TrueRU]

Holy crap this thread morphed into something ridiculous at times. I was originally just asking the question if RU would consider potentially postponing the game given what we were starting to see with the storm last night. Unfortunately it was pretty bad in some areas and I hope those affected can recover and get things back to normal soon. And there was no "triggering" like some ridiculous posts mentioned. Wow how silly.

I just want to go to the game and support my alma mater like so many of us do. I would hope RU moves it to either Friday or Saturday so that fans can be there. Having the game with no fans would be a disappointment.

We have waited this long to see our team play in person. We can all wait another day or two if that is the end result.

 

[RUtom]

Didn’t we play on a Sunday then a Thursday one of those years after ESPN started hating on us?

Sort of.. 2006 season, Uconn was on a Sunday night, then that big Louisville game on a Thursday but a bye week in between them.

 

[RU05]

Once lock downs and fear, banning and canceling become the solution, it’s hard to go back to the rugged individualism that built this country!

Yeah cause there was never a cancelled game prior to 2020.

Can we just admit there was massive flooding in the area surrounding the stadium and the possibility of postponing the game should be considered?

 

[TrueRU]

Correct, 2006 season, Uconn was on a Sunday night, then that big Louisville game on Thursday.

The UConn game was on a Sunday, but I think there was a week off before that Louisville Thursday game in 2006, right?

 

[Jersey07712]

Raritan has flooded and 18 is closed.

 

[mildone_rivals]

I lived in Boston when the Blizzard of '78 hit. People extrapolating that to global cooling and a coming ice age turned out to be wrong. I suggest not extrapolating from this extreme event.

Can't really extrapolate too usefully from any one or two events. However, people can examine the record for ALL events that have occurred. And it's child's play to identify trends from that.

 

[RU05]

The stadium field level is well above flood stage. If you ever entered from River Road you would remember walking uphill quickly and steeply.

I'm saying the water that fell directly into the stadium. Looks like about a foot of water fell in that area. Then consider the bowlish nature of the stadium funneling more water onto the field area.

 

[blueoyster]

Is anyone surprised this is happening to Rutgers? Not that it is our fault, seems the Rutgers Screw in action once again!!

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Sort of.. 2006 season, Uconn was on a Sunday night, then that big Louisville game on a Thursday but a bye week in between them.

Ahhhhh okay thx!

 

[mildone_rivals]

I just mentioned something similar above. But I'm thinking it would be the rain that fell in the stadium itself.

I'm guessing the stadium drainage was designed to handle even worse rainfall amounts. Those things tend to be intentionally overdesigned.

I think the problems, if there are going to be any problems, will come from the Raritan river sometime around 2pm today. It wouldn't be the first time in recent history that the Raritan reached the stadium. Although perhaps the last time, it was a combination of ongoing rain and the Raritan flood stage, I don't know.

 

[koleszar]

Google shot as of 8:15 this morning:

Saw a road cam of rt 18 by the railroad bridge. When people are riding their bikes and walking the road you know this isn't going to happen with fans.

 

[RUScrew85]

I think they play - to me the biggest issue is if they can get enough police and fire staff needed for the game. If they cancel having fans this game is played easily. @MrsScrew not happy she's still here with me and not tailgating already.

The fans support is the big issue. Staff and roads to get them there.

 

[phs73rc77gsm83]

I live in Pway a few miles from the stadium. You can’t get there via route 18. You can’t get off 287 at River Road and get more than a couple hundred yards on 18. You can’t get there from the Centenial or the back way, at least from where I am. There are places in Pway that don’t generally flood (I’ve been here 60+ years) that are underwater. Even if Temple is at the hotel on Centenial they couldn’t get there as of now. Same if they are in Bridgewater.

 

[Knight Shift]

Please I'm not talking about first responders Only essential workers should be on the road right now. My wife left for work in Nursing home today like she has every day never missing a day in every storm or covid day.

Other people should not be on the road

Some people have critical deadlines at work, and clients/customers who do not understand or care about flooding where they are not located. So some people are on the road to keep their business going. Just saying. Down at the shore, there has been minimal rain and damage. Some people are not on social media or checking the weather. They may just be jumping in their cars to go to work.

 

[DHajekRC84]

You can bet the GS is working on it.

How much concession $$ will Rutgers lose by not having fans there? Calculate how much they will gain by pushing the game and offer Temple half of it to do so.

 

[Ridge 22]

I think they play - to me the biggest issue is if they can get enough police and fire staff needed for the game. If they cancel having fans this game is played easily. @MrsScrew not happy she's still here with me and not tailgating already.

The fans support is the big issue. Staff and roads to get them there.

Becoming more and more difficult by the minute to see how this game is played tonight.

 

[WhiteBus]

I'm saying the water that fell directly into the stadium. Looks like about a foot of water fell in that area. Then consider the bowlish nature of the stadium funneling more water onto the field area.

It's not like a real bowl that can hold in water. There is drainage all over the place including under the field surface itself. The field is the least of today's problems.

 

[RUScrew85]

I'm saying the water that fell directly into the stadium. Looks like about a foot of water fell in that area. Then consider the bowlish nature of the stadium funneling more water onto the field area.

It there is more than just dirt under that turf. I think they do alot of drainage work before they put the turf down. I could be wrong but I'd expect the field to be fine.

 

[mildone_rivals]

Once lock downs and fear, banning and canceling become the solution, it’s hard to go back to the rugged individualism that built this country!

And I was just sitting here thinking to myself that what this thread needs is even more aggressively stated ideological stupidity.

 

[Knight Shift]

I live in Pway a few miles from the stadium. You can’t get there via route 18. You can’t get off 287 at River Road and get more than a couple hundred yards on 18. You can’t get there from the Centenial or the back way, at least from where I am. There are places in Pway that don’t generally flood (I’ve been here 60+ years) that are underwater. Even if Temple is at the hotel on Centenial they couldn’t get there as of now. Same if they are in Bridgewater.

How's your lawn? Any brown spots? (Sorry, just a little levity). Hope you and those near Rutgers are safe.

 

[Bleem Phuppert]

It there is more than just dirt under that turf. I think they do alot of drainage work before they put the turf down. I could be wrong but I'd expect the field to be fine.

There is an extremely complex drainage system under the field. It cannot flood.

 

[RUScrew85]

Becoming more and more difficult by the minute to see how this game is played tonight.

Played with fans I agree with you. Played in 2020 Covid mode. Piece of cake. They have all day to get the Refs in and 20 people to run the stadium. I hope they don't do that though. Hell postpone it to the end of the season if they don't have coinciding weeks off. Playing with no fans is the worst case scenario.

 

[DHajekRC84]

I live in Pway a few miles from the stadium. You can’t get there via route 18. You can’t get off 287 at River Road and get more than a couple hundred yards on 18. You can’t get there from the Centenial or the back way, at least from where I am. There are places in Pway that don’t generally flood (I’ve been here 60+ years) that are underwater. Even if Temple is at the hotel on Centenial they couldn’t get there as of now. Same if they are in Bridgewater.

Just pump the water to the area wherever Temple is staying.

 

[Rufaninga]

So for all those that wanted to go to stadium via boat, today is your one chance....

 

[Ridge 22]

Played with fans I agree with you. Played in 2020 Covid mode. Piece of cake. They have all day to get the Refs in and 20 people to run the stadium. I hope they don't do that though. Hell postpone it to the end of the season if they don't have coinciding weeks off. Playing with no fans is the worst case scenario.

i cant imagine that is the outcome Greg or RU wants. There would be a significant financial impact. I have to imagine all efforts are being made to reschedule. Temple is drivable. It should be doable.