Watching Gustav

I wanted to write about my experience at Tiger Stadium on Saturday where I witnessed the Fightin' Tigers dispatch Appalachian State 41-13 before a relatively healthy crowd considering the 10 a.m. kickoff and the existence of a Category 4 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, the events of the coming days make football, as glorious and important as it is to our Southern culture, trivial. Although it was reduced to Cat 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale before being dropped to Cat 2 with 110 mph sustained winds just prior to landfall, Gustav means business.

All I could think about Sunday was Katrina. Her winds were 125 mph. Katrina's storm surge was unreal, reaching 30 feet in some areas along the Mississippi Coast. Gustav has proven so far that he's certainly not Katrina, but nevertheless, a hurricane's a hurricane, especially when it's hitting an area that includes parts below sea level.

My affinity for keeping up with weather along with what's maybe a morbid curiosity keep me glued to coverage every time a storm approaches. The biggest worries right now are the levees holding up and flood waters surging into the Orleans and Jefferson Parishes canals, which would put those levees under further duress.

For now, all I can do is keep watching and praying that my friends in Baton Rouge are safe. The northern eye wall of Gustav is approaching Baton Rouge right now, according to the folks on CNN. So hang tight, Jake and Becca. Since I doubt y'all will have power, I'll pull for Tennessee tonight against UCLA for the sake of all SEC fans.