I managed to snap a few quick pics/vids when I got to the field with the other refs Saturday morning. These should help give you an idea of just how bad it was after the storm shredded up the event. I know that the weather made it a less than desirable experience for everyone and things weren't quite as organized as we all wanted, but once you understand just how far the PSP staff (from top to bottom) went to recover from the Friday night disaster, you'll appreciate things a lot more.
The event when I got there a bit after 5am (first one is a video):
Shin deep in lake GIP:
The only smile to be seen at the entire event that morning:
Refs moving an entire pit so players don't have to deal with the water (video):
Setting up a downed netting post... if you play d side this guy risked his life in very strong winds to save yours:
Perfect example of how strong the storm winds were:
Untangling the jumbled mess of netting posts between fields:
I know some of this stuff looks like it's not hard to fix, but once you're there doing it in person things change. You're tired, cold, soaking wet, and wading through 6+" deep swamp water to clear the facility for players while entire colonies of floating fire ants sporadically assault your legs. After you've spent 6-12 hours rebuilding the entire venue, you got to ref until midnight with a few 5 minute breaks, with downed scoreboards and dead scorekeeping laptops. Once that's over you sleep for 4 hours, get up, and do it again. I'm not posting this to whine or get your sympathy - we all chose to work for the PSP. All I'm saying is, for the teams that went to Galveston and plan on playing more events this season, thank every PSP staff member you come in contact with. They went through hell to get you on the field this event and they stayed there long after your team's games were over. I have a deep respect for all the refs and crew members that worked to get the event back on track and I hope you guys do too.
- Jake
