I was really looking forward to this one and it didnt disappoint. Extremely well done. This was one of my very earliest sports memories having just turned 8 years old. I remember it vividly.
it truly was an amazingly improbable series of events. What are the odds that the biggest earthquake in the bay area since 1906 just happens to take place during a world series game between the 2 bay area teams? Unbelievable. Its just insane. It was also interesting to find out that were it not for quake proof upgrades made to candlestick park literally within a year from this night, it is believed the entire upper deck would have collapsed killing thousands in attendance and a death toll that probably exceeds 9/11
I really recommend this to anyone who missed it. It is on again tonight at 9 on espn2. Anyone else catch this? Thoughts? Memories?
It's crazy to think what a near miss it was to renovate Candlestick Park. A few months separate a scary situation from catastrophe. Wild.
The freeway collapse: the idea that you could be driving along and a whole upper roadway could just fall on you scared the shit outta me.
its unfathomable
I also thought the segments with people like Dennis Eckersley were a bit heavy-handed. I'm sure the people in the stadium were spooked and worried, but Eckersley was talking about it 20+ years later like the people in the stadium had been through hell and back. Meanwhile, people on the highway were getting crushed to death and dismembered. If it was "more than a baseball story," why not spend more time with the really serious stuff outside the stadium? How much did we really need to hear from Will Clark, who basically just walked around the stadium with his little brother and wondered when they'd play baseball next?
I also thought it went on too long. Part of the reason I tuned out.
I saw a piece on the new 49ers stadium, and they showed the guy who designed Candlestick. It talked about the problems and issues he encountered and where they had to build, but I thought I remember them saying the one thing he did do was reienforced the stadium for earthquakes.
Also, most people don't realize this, but the primary thing that leads to collapses is not poor construction or old buildings but the nature of the soil. Sandy soil liquifies, which is why the Marina district, built on landfill, was devastated, while Cow Hollow, a mere two blocks away, was unscathed because it's built on bedrock. Most of the old city is on hills, which means bedrock.
Most famous image from that quake is Canseco's hot wife , dressed to the nines and in high heels, pumping gas at a self serve station while Jose just sits in the car. Don't know if they showed that in the program