The atmosphere was electric inside Atlanta’s Georgia Dome that evening of March 14, 2008. Nearly 15,000 fans cheered on their schools in the SEC Men’s College Basketball Tournament second-round matchup between University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The winning team would stay alive for a spot in March Madness, the NCAA’s championship tourney. No one imagined that real lives hung in the balance as well.
In the closing moments of the second half, Tide fans prepared to head home unhappy. The Bulldogs were up by three with two seconds to play. Alabama had possession and prepared to inbound the ball, but anyone versed in basketball strategy knew MSU would try to stuff the inbound pass or instantly foul the first player to touch the ball, forcing the ‘Tide to shoot two free throws instead of a game-tying 3-pointer.
Except, something strange happened. No one covered the Alabama player passing the ball into play. The ‘Tide’s senior forward, Mykal Riley, caught the pass easily. The Bulldogs’ defender swatted at him, an obvious foul, but the refs, inexplicably, didn’t call it.
Riley turned, and while falling to his left, released a three-point shot a split-second before the final buzzer. The ball hit the back of the rim, bounced high into the air, off the backboard, and then, incredibly, fell right through the hoop.
The wild shot sent the game into overtime. Fans streaming for the exits returned to their seats. No one was going anywhere, not yet.
Eight minutes later, less than two minutes into overtime, the whole Georgia Dome began shaking. “I thought a lot of people in the upper part of the arena were stomping their feet,” one attendee recalled.
But the vibrations had nothing to do with the fans. Debris fell from the roof, a portion of the sidewall ripped away, even the scoreboard began swinging wildly. An F2 tornado was right on top of the Georgia Dome, with deadly winds peaking at 135 MPH:
There’d been no tornado warnings. Bad weather wasn’t forecasted to arrive until the next day. For several tense minutes while the game was halted, fans, players and officials wondered if the dome would hold. Once word spread that the danger had passed, those in attendance made the stunning realization—had Mikal Riley’s shot not fallen, thousands of them would have been outside in the parking lot, right in the funnel’s path, instead of safely inside the arena.
Sports Illustrated called it “The Shot That Saved Lives.” Mikal told the magazine that the experience strengthened his own faith. It was only appropriate that the first event hosted in the Georgia Dome after repairs were made was a sunrise church service for Easter.
It’s certainly not the only story we’ve heard that implies God is a sports fan. Remember the pigeon on the football field who comforted the Oakland Raiders after one teammate’s tragic death?
Or the trade that revealed a running back’s life-threatening condition?
How about the “coincidences” that gave Jeremy Lin a shot at NBA stardom?
In our upcoming June/July issue of Mysterious Ways, you’ll read a story of a high school basketball tournament game—one that had special meaning to a grieving family in the crowd.
As someone wise has said before—God might not have a favorite sports team, but He roots for us.
Who are you rooting for in March Madness this year? Have any of your sports heroes been involved in a game-changing moment in your life? Let us know!
