Football in a Monsoon...

Last week between Thursday and Sunday morning the Abilene area received a little over seven inches of rain. I'll add, that this rain was badly needed for the area lakes and agriculture. I just wish that it didn't have to happen on Friday night during football, as well as a few other really cool events that ended up getting cancelled in the process. But, it did and there's nothing I can do about it now.

So, the game I was covering was Cisco at Stamford. Now, when I'm covering games in the rain like this my number one priority is keeping my gear safe. Over the years, I've found the perfect set up for this is gaffers taping an umbrella to my monopod so, as long as the rain isn't coming down sideways on me the camera and lens stay well protected the whole game. My second camera I will usually put around my neck or on the front of my body to keep as dry as possible (that works ok, but not the best way). My camera bag (a Think Tank beltpack) is the easiest of all since Think Tank makes awesome equipment, the rain covers are built into the gear, I just pull out the covers and put them on and everything there is protected.

With all that done it was time to cover the game. And what a great game it turned out to be. The weather I'm sure played a lot into it staying so close and dictated keeping the ball on the ground. I figured this was going to play into Cisco's advantage, but somehow Stamford managed just enough passes to make things work out. Then, late in the first half, Stamford's all-state quarterback ended up hurting his throwing hand and the backup had to take over. I was afraid this game could get ugly real quick, however, after a little growing pains on the first two drives he settled in and brought the Bulldogs back and ended up throwing the game-winning touchdown pass, late in the fourth quarter. Cisco had a chance to drive down the field to win it, but the soggy weather and a couple nice plays by the Stamford defense sealed the game in a close one. Despite the nasty weather and me feeling like I'd just taken a shower when I finally got to my car to edit photos, it was a great game to watch.