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Stage falls on Sugarland crowd at Indiana State Fair

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Bubbler, Aug 13, 2011.

  1. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    One of the groomsman in my wedding was 1 1/2 feet away from where the stage fell.

    He's OK. Two of his friends were not. Both were hospitalized, one with serious injuries.

    What a mess. My wife and kids were (perhaps at the same concert as Bob Cook) there on Thursday. But the grace of God, etc.
     
  2. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    The Notre Dame kid died on a gust "out of nowhere"?

    Are our posters high?
     
  3. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    This is why I say live your life the way you want and hug the ones you love. You never know what day will be your last. Who would have envisioned going to a concert at the fair would get you killed.

    Prayers for those people.
     
  4. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Hmmmmmm ...

    I'm not exactly sure what you mean here, but freak accidents should not be a blank check to everyone to make poor or short-sighted decisions.

    I have parents who were always using outliers to justify bad behavior.

    "They tell you not to smoke. But look at Johnny's dad. Never smoked a day in his life. Died of a stroke at age 50. When it's your time, it's your time."
     
  5. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    I'm not talking about bad behavior or mistreating people. I mean if you want to have a corn dog or a slice of pie, eat it. If you turn the radio up loud and dance, do so. Those sort of things.

    I do believe when it's your time, it's your time. Don't go over the top and do stupid things that will speed it up, but if you are going to live your life in a box, then they might as well put you in one.
     
  6. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    OK, cool. As you know, there are people who use random tragic events to basically justify a reckless lifestyle.
     
  7. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Sugarland's had a rough year... guess what band had a gig in Tuscaloosa canceled because of a tornado two weeks before the big one hit?
     
  8. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    At Conner Prairie, 15 miles almost straight northeast up Allisonville Road, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra canceled its outdoor show 30 minutes before the storm hit, giving 7,000 people time to get outta dodge.

    And yet, the State Fair, with access to the same weather info as the orchestra, said the show (and the fair) must go on. Who's making its calls, Brian Barnhart? (/crossthread)

    Seriously, I get the feeling that there is going to be strong evidence that greed got in the way of good sense, from how flimsy the stage setup is (and from what I saw -- different show than your family saw, Bubs -- it's not the most solid setup), to the decision to keep the whole fair, Ferris wheel included, open when a storm was approaching.

    And, in the end, for that decision, the fair is going to lose a shitload of money. It closed all day yesterday, and I'm sure crowds will be down the rest of the fair (it runs through Aug. 21) because people will be so creeped out. Plus, there were supposed to be some big shows this week -- Janet Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Maroon 5 and Train. The fair has already announced they won't go on, and they're looking to put them in alternate venues. And, of course, the lawsuits and fines that will come out of this, and perhaps a question of using the fair as a concert venue in future years (at least outdoors -- there is a coliseum that seats 8,000, but that's far less than a grandstand show can pull in).
     
  9. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    I would check and see if that tarp was part of the original spec for the stage construction or something that someone added on.

    There is a lot of time and effort placed into the design of a building, stage, etc... and the designs are tested over and over. My guess is either the tarp or cloth was not meant to be part of the stage or it was the wrong type of cloth for the design. Or, how the tarp was fastened could not have been the correct way.

    I would think that the cloth ripping is what should have happened, not taking the stage down.
     
  10. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    Given that Mitch Daniels and the state leg has gutted safety regulation and funding in a state that didn't put a high premium on it to begin with, I'm not expecting a strong investigative response. Daniels has already been on national morning talk shows pushing the "we didn't see this coming" meme, even though apparently others did.
     
  11. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Yeah, that's a helluva contrast between Conner Prairie and the Indiana State Fair. That would strike me as something to hang a lawsuit on if you wanted to go after the Fair. But the company that put together the rigging is going to be especially in the crosshairs. It was a freak weather incident, for sure, but those happen everywhere and collapses don't always follow.
     
  12. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    A breakdown by local weatherpeople shows that the gust wasn't "localized," as the fair claims, and that a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the area 10 minutes before the stage collapsed.

    I know the fair might have felt more pressure to get the show on, but, cripes, the softball field where my 12-year-old daughter plays has a siren that goes off when lightning is sensed within 10 miles of the area, so that way everyone can get out of there before the storm actually hits (it's a bit of a haul to get to the parking lot from the fields). We're instructed as coaches on other fields that the moment anyone sees lightning (these are park district fields without sirens), get the hell out NOW.

    Check out these pics of the sky before the stage fell (and there are more of the stage falling, and its aftermath):

    https://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=100001021352237#!/photo.php?fbid=233517440025633&set=a.233517350025642.61407.100001021352237&type=1&theater

    It wasn't like it was a sunny day, and suddenly, woosh. The skies were beyond dark and threatening. I can't imagine why they didn't evacuate as those clouds started rolling in. In that scenario, the stage still would have fallen -- but it would've fallen only on empty chairs. (And no one would have been up on the trusses, either.)
     
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