1
00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:10,000
Speaker 1: Spring is tornado season in Georgia, but the forecast for

2
00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,680
Speaker 1: March fourteenth, two thousand and eight didn't seem so bad.

3
00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:18,440
Speaker 1: It looked like a cloudy day with a chance of thunderstorms.

4
00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:26,360
Speaker 1: Around nine o'clock that night, the situation changed. Radar picked

5
00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,400
Speaker 1: up a pair of large storm systems making their way

6
00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,760
Speaker 1: east toward Atlanta supercells.

7
00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,000
Speaker 2: A supercell does not necessarily mean that a tornado is

8
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,360
Speaker 2: going to form, but typically if we do see a

9
00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,600
Speaker 2: supercell thunderstorm, which means more of a heightened storm with

10
00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,240
Speaker 2: more instability, really it could wrap up and produce damaging

11
00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:48,000
Speaker 2: winds or hail.

12
00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,880
Speaker 1: That's jen Narramore, a meteorologist who runs the website tornado Talk.

13
00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,840
Speaker 2: Tornadoes are actually hard to form. You have to have

14
00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:58,760
Speaker 2: all the ingredients coming together. You have to have the

15
00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,280
Speaker 2: spin in the atmosphere, you need to have a moisture source,

16
00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,280
Speaker 2: you need to have some kind of lyft in the

17
00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:04,920
Speaker 2: atmosphere to create these storms.

18
00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:10,040
Speaker 1: Anyway, Atlanta traces its history back to the eighteen thirties,

19
00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,000
Speaker 1: and for its first one hundred and seventy years, Atlanta

20
00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:19,360
Speaker 1: experienced its fair share of severe and scary weather, but

21
00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:24,800
Speaker 1: not once had a major tornado. Touched down in downtown

22
00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:33,360
Speaker 1: Atlanta until March fourteenth, two thousand and eight. Jen was

23
00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,840
Speaker 1: living in Atlanta at the time and working for the Weather.

24
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,480
Speaker 2: Channel, and my shift was over. I was working in

25
00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,120
Speaker 2: the radio department. Then It's a Friday evening, and I

26
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,319
Speaker 2: was hanging out with one of my best friends, my

27
00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,880
Speaker 2: co worker, and waiting on her shift to ed. But

28
00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,880
Speaker 2: we did start getting phone calls after about nine thirty

29
00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,160
Speaker 2: nine thirty nine to forty five time frame. Hey, the

30
00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:58,080
Speaker 2: Georgia Dome is something's going on here. Everything's moving, the

31
00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,120
Speaker 2: roof is ripping off. What's happening? Stuff falling onto the spectators.

32
00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:04,400
Speaker 2: We've had to stop the game. What's happening?

33
00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,840
Speaker 1: The calls were coming from the Georgia Dome, an eighty

34
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,760
Speaker 1: thousand seat indoor sports stadium in the heart of downtown Atlanta.

35
00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:19,400
Speaker 1: Inside thousands of college basketball fans were watching the two

36
00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,639
Speaker 1: thousand and eight Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament.

37
00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:25,840
Speaker 2: We started getting a lot of phone calls into the

38
00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,840
Speaker 2: radio department, and a lot of these were radio broadcasters

39
00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,840
Speaker 2: that were actually broadcasting the game, and they were calling

40
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,160
Speaker 2: and saying, Hey, what in the world's going on here?

41
00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:40,720
Speaker 1: Unbeknownst to the spectators inside. A major tornado had cut

42
00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:45,520
Speaker 1: a path through the heart of downtown Atlanta and passed

43
00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,639
Speaker 1: within one hundred yards of the Georgia Dome.

44
00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,760
Speaker 2: So they were kind of side swiped by the tornado,

45
00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,560
Speaker 2: but the core wins were just one hundred yards to

46
00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:56,200
Speaker 2: the north of it.

47
00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:01,440
Speaker 1: The tornado was classified as an EF two with maximum

48
00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,640
Speaker 1: winds exceeding one hundred and thirty miles per hour for

49
00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:10,959
Speaker 1: twelve harrowing minutes. The twister cut a six mile path

50
00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,919
Speaker 1: of destruction through downtown Atlanta.

51
00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,239
Speaker 2: There was glass everywhere, glass blown out of so many

52
00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,480
Speaker 2: high rise buildings, The OMNI Center, the CNN Center was

53
00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:25,840
Speaker 2: a mess, and the debris everywhere.

54
00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,880
Speaker 1: Tragically, there was one fatality, but it's shocking that the

55
00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,960
Speaker 1: number wasn't higher. Atlanta is home to nearly half a

56
00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:39,840
Speaker 1: million people within the city limits alone. A massive tornado

57
00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,520
Speaker 1: two hundred yards across with one hundred and thirty miles

58
00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:48,000
Speaker 1: per hour winds slashed through downtown Atlanta on a Friday

59
00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:52,120
Speaker 1: night and only one person died. What else can you

60
00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:53,640
Speaker 1: call that but a miracle?

61
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:58,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, six miles, twelve minutes, and twenty five million dollars

62
00:03:58,800 --> 00:03:59,720
Speaker 2: worth of damage.

63
00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,720
Speaker 1: It's a lot, but What if there's a reason that

64
00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,560
Speaker 1: more people didn't get hurt or killed in Atlanta in

65
00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:12,400
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight. What if hundreds or even thousands

66
00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,719
Speaker 1: of lives were saved by something that happened inside the

67
00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,960
Speaker 1: Georgia Dome that night. What if the course of history

68
00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:26,880
Speaker 1: was changed by a jump shot. Welcome to very special

69
00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:31,919
Speaker 1: episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm your host, Dana Schwartz,

70
00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,239
Speaker 1: and this is the shot.

71
00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,520
Speaker 3: Hey everybody, I'm excited to be back with you today,

72
00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,559
Speaker 3: Excited to get into this story. It's a sports story.

73
00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,440
Speaker 3: You do not have to care about sports to enjoy

74
00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,040
Speaker 3: or extreme weather. You don't have to be a stormchaser.

75
00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:54,960
Speaker 3: You can just enjoy this one.

76
00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,080
Speaker 1: I have to be honest, I know almost nothing about basketball,

77
00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,240
Speaker 1: but my husband has had the playoffs on for it

78
00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:03,159
Speaker 1: feels like weeks. I don't know how long it's been,

79
00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,400
Speaker 1: but I do feel like I'm absorbing some basketball knowledge

80
00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,200
Speaker 1: by Osmosis, and this was a story he did not

81
00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:10,120
Speaker 1: know same.

82
00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,360
Speaker 4: I love how this is a story that's said in

83
00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:14,920
Speaker 4: my hometown. I don't follow basketball per se, but it's

84
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,440
Speaker 4: said in my hometown and I've never ever heard this story,

85
00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:19,040
Speaker 4: Like how it's.

86
00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,280
Speaker 1: Kind of amazing. It just like makes you think that

87
00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,680
Speaker 1: any one of us could be doing anything at any

88
00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,160
Speaker 1: time with profound effects, whether or not we're good at

89
00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:28,320
Speaker 1: basketball in any way.

90
00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,240
Speaker 5: Totally. Also, don't you love second chance stories? Oh it's

91
00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:33,560
Speaker 5: so sweet, right, And if.

92
00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,240
Speaker 4: It's an athlete, I'm always going to root for him.

93
00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,000
Speaker 4: But then like, if it's a second chance CEO story,

94
00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:40,000
Speaker 4: probably not going to win the heart strings, you know.

95
00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,359
Speaker 4: But at the same time, second chance stories in America

96
00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,480
Speaker 4: always kill it, and I think that's true around the world.

97
00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:49,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's something It's like pets and people playing sports

98
00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,719
Speaker 1: that they really really have tried hard their whole lives

99
00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:53,560
Speaker 1: to play will always get at the heart strings.

100
00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:54,040
Speaker 6: Totally.

101
00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:55,160
Speaker 1: So should we dive in?

102
00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:56,120
Speaker 3: Dive in.

103
00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,960
Speaker 1: Michail Riley grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, a city

104
00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,800
Speaker 1: of forty thousand, about fifty miles outside of Little Rock.

105
00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:11,360
Speaker 1: For as long as he can remember, Michael has played basketball.

106
00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,840
Speaker 1: It started when he and his younger brother Dante were

107
00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,120
Speaker 1: little kids shooting hoops in their grandma's backyard.

108
00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:19,440
Speaker 7: First we husuld.

109
00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,480
Speaker 8: We started out with dirt, you know, it was dirty

110
00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,200
Speaker 8: and just one one basket. And then we got older

111
00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:27,919
Speaker 8: and she didn't want us to go, you know, like

112
00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:29,960
Speaker 8: to the other parks to play. She wanted us to

113
00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:31,560
Speaker 8: you know, stay in her backyard.

114
00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:36,360
Speaker 1: Michael's grandma didn't have much money, but she used proceeds

115
00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,880
Speaker 1: from a life insurance policy to build a full length

116
00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:45,120
Speaker 1: basketball court right behind her house. Two baskets, asphalt, surface,

117
00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,279
Speaker 1: painted lines, everything.

118
00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,680
Speaker 7: Yeah, she built that in the backyard. Yeah. I grew

119
00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,840
Speaker 7: up my older cousins also who played basketball.

120
00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,440
Speaker 8: Al said, we used to always be out there and

121
00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,200
Speaker 8: she had a big spotlight op there to be like

122
00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:03,279
Speaker 8: this right, so we can we play like all night.

123
00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:04,880
Speaker 8: So you know, he used to be out there at

124
00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,640
Speaker 8: one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning, especially during the summertime.

125
00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:13,640
Speaker 1: Michael's dad, Freddie Riley, became the unofficial neighborhood coach. Random

126
00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,160
Speaker 1: kids would show up at grandma's backyard court on summer

127
00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,120
Speaker 1: evenings and Freddie would have them running drills.

128
00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:24,320
Speaker 8: That's who started us playing basketball when she built that court.

129
00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:25,400
Speaker 7: That's when we started.

130
00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,400
Speaker 8: Like he started like teaching us real basketball, like we

131
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:30,480
Speaker 8: used to play all the time, you know. Well, he

132
00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,240
Speaker 8: started teaching us the rules and everything, you know, like

133
00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:39,320
Speaker 8: different moves, the fundamentals, you know, left handed stuff, right hand, dribble,

134
00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:40,520
Speaker 8: all of that.

135
00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:45,280
Speaker 1: Freddie remembers those days like they were yesterday. Only after

136
00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,240
Speaker 1: the kids learned how to dribble and handle the ball

137
00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:52,040
Speaker 1: did Freddie start teaching them how to shoot. Here's Freddy.

138
00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,600
Speaker 6: I always taught him that as you're going up, you

139
00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:56,920
Speaker 6: don't release the ball.

140
00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:58,119
Speaker 7: Till you get to your peak.

141
00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,920
Speaker 6: Then you release the ball out to then not releasing

142
00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,080
Speaker 6: the ball as you're going up. A lot of times,

143
00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:08,240
Speaker 6: you know, young guys that don't really know about basketball,

144
00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,080
Speaker 6: they shooting when they're going up, and then they shoot

145
00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,400
Speaker 6: with their whole arm instead of shooting from the wrist,

146
00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,160
Speaker 6: you know, and put a ball would come off the fingertips.

147
00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:21,200
Speaker 1: Michael picked it up fast. He was a natural shooter.

148
00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,200
Speaker 6: McHale was always the best shooter out of all of them.

149
00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:27,640
Speaker 6: And he was shooting. I mean he could shoot. That

150
00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,160
Speaker 6: boy could really shoot, and from anywhere. It didn't make

151
00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,400
Speaker 6: no difference. He shoot from half court, top of the key,

152
00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:37,319
Speaker 6: deep in the corner.

153
00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:38,720
Speaker 5: That was just him.

154
00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:41,200
Speaker 6: He had a real nice stroke.

155
00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:46,240
Speaker 1: As Mchel grew up, though his confidence lagged behind his

156
00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:50,960
Speaker 1: shooting skills. He was a skinny, quiet kid and when

157
00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,800
Speaker 1: he got out on the basketball court. He wasn't the

158
00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,160
Speaker 1: one wrestling for loose balls or calling for his shot.

159
00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,520
Speaker 1: He mostly got pushed around or ignored.

160
00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,080
Speaker 6: McHale was always a timid type kid. He was always

161
00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,960
Speaker 6: kind of timid and shy. When he got to the

162
00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,440
Speaker 6: ninth grade year, he didn't play. I kept trying to

163
00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,760
Speaker 6: encourage him to go out, and he wouldn't go back out.

164
00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:18,080
Speaker 6: So when he came over to the high school his

165
00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,880
Speaker 6: tenth grade year, he did try out for basketball, but

166
00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,960
Speaker 6: he didn't make it. He became when you call the

167
00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:26,600
Speaker 6: water boy.

168
00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,560
Speaker 1: Michael remembers those days too. Instead of running drills with

169
00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,439
Speaker 1: the other kids, he was collecting at sweaty practice uniforms

170
00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:37,560
Speaker 1: and sweeping the gym floor.

171
00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,920
Speaker 8: That's exactly who I was. Shy, didn't say too much,

172
00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:43,960
Speaker 8: that was just shy. You know, your shy kid.

173
00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:48,160
Speaker 1: McHale didn't quit though. He kept working on his jump

174
00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:52,679
Speaker 1: shot in Grandma's backyard. He kept growing and getting stronger.

175
00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,760
Speaker 1: McHale tried out for basketball his junior year and made

176
00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:01,040
Speaker 1: the JV team at Pine Bluff High School. Still, he

177
00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:05,600
Speaker 1: mostly rode the bench. Then came the growth spurt.

178
00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:09,120
Speaker 6: His junior year. He was like I think about six

179
00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:13,120
Speaker 6: one and then over that summer when it became a senior,

180
00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:15,880
Speaker 6: he grew that. Over that summer he grew to about

181
00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,880
Speaker 6: six about six four six five. He just grew up,

182
00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:22,760
Speaker 6: I mean just shot up over the summer.

183
00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:27,760
Speaker 1: His new height caught the coach's attention, but McHale still

184
00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,240
Speaker 1: wasn't a starter. He would only get playing time if

185
00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,480
Speaker 1: someone else was sick or injured. But when he got

186
00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,880
Speaker 1: in Michale tried to show what his new body could do, and.

187
00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,720
Speaker 7: The coach did let him play some games.

188
00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,200
Speaker 6: And the best game he had during his senior year,

189
00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:48,679
Speaker 6: he scored fifteen points and he even got a dunk

190
00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:49,400
Speaker 6: in that game.

191
00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:51,040
Speaker 7: That was his best game.

192
00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,280
Speaker 6: I think that kind of gave him a boost of

193
00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:57,800
Speaker 6: a lift, you know, getting rid of that that shinness,

194
00:10:57,880 --> 00:10:59,840
Speaker 6: you know, making you know, a little bit.

195
00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,760
Speaker 8: He definitely did. I had that game, and I had

196
00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,240
Speaker 8: that company that was there. It was definitely in my

197
00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:10,520
Speaker 8: mind that yes, I can't do this, and I am,

198
00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,559
Speaker 8: you know, on the level with other players. I think

199
00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:13,559
Speaker 8: I can play with them too.

200
00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:17,400
Speaker 1: After high school, mchel tried to build on the momentum

201
00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,880
Speaker 1: of his senior year. He did well on his acts

202
00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,000
Speaker 1: and caught the attention of a small college called Washata

203
00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:31,959
Speaker 1: Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Washata Baptist recruited mical for

204
00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,920
Speaker 1: the basketball team and even offered him an academic scholarship.

205
00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:38,000
Speaker 7: We told him before he left.

206
00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,520
Speaker 6: Freshman year is your crucier year in college. You have

207
00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,480
Speaker 6: to really get down to business and stay down in

208
00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:48,720
Speaker 6: the business during that time, otherwise you about won't make it.

209
00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:51,439
Speaker 6: He didn't get down to business.

210
00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:57,000
Speaker 1: Mchael was excited to play ball for the Washataw Baptist Tigers,

211
00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:00,520
Speaker 1: a Division two program, but it wasn't meant to be.

212
00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:05,840
Speaker 1: His grades flatlined and McHale dropped out after just one semester.

213
00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,319
Speaker 1: Just like that, he was back home in Pine Bluff,

214
00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,559
Speaker 1: without a team and without a plan. That could have

215
00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,680
Speaker 1: easily been the end of McHale's story, a late bloomer

216
00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,720
Speaker 1: who didn't shine in high school but had a chance

217
00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,160
Speaker 1: for a college career, but it didn't work out. In

218
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,959
Speaker 1: that version of the story, McHale settles down in Pine Bluff,

219
00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,720
Speaker 1: gets a regular job, plays some hoops on the weekends,

220
00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,800
Speaker 1: and spends the rest of his life wondering what could

221
00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:41,240
Speaker 1: have been. But that's not what happened. That's not Michal's story,

222
00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:45,440
Speaker 1: McHale caught a break, the first of many lucky breaks

223
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:51,760
Speaker 1: and many miracles that kept his basketball dreams alive. One day,

224
00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:55,160
Speaker 1: Michael was back at Pine Bluff High School playing with

225
00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,239
Speaker 1: some old teammates when a coach stopped in from Panola

226
00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:04,320
Speaker 1: College in Carthage, Texas. The coach liked McHale's shot. He

227
00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,960
Speaker 1: liked it so much that he signed McHale on the spot.

228
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,720
Speaker 1: Suddenly McHale had a second chance at a college basketball career,

229
00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:16,440
Speaker 1: and he wasn't going to drop the ball this time.

230
00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,200
Speaker 1: He'd get down to business, as Freddie likes to say,

231
00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:24,559
Speaker 1: he'd keep his grades up, and most importantly, he'd show

232
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,320
Speaker 1: the world what he could do on the basketball court.

233
00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,960
Speaker 1: It didn't matter if Panola was just a tiny junior

234
00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:35,960
Speaker 1: college in Texas. This was Mchal's big chance, maybe his

235
00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,320
Speaker 1: last chance, and the way he saw it, there was

236
00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:40,480
Speaker 1: no plan B.

237
00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,160
Speaker 8: That was my mindset when I went to Pronola. I

238
00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,000
Speaker 8: was like, this is my chance, and I don't know

239
00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:48,640
Speaker 8: who's going to be watching. You never know who's going

240
00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:51,480
Speaker 8: to be watching, so all I say is every game,

241
00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:56,000
Speaker 8: I'm going out here to kill everybody. And the system

242
00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,600
Speaker 8: was so perfect, like we didn't really have plays. We

243
00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:01,320
Speaker 8: had a system. He's just running system. You run to

244
00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:03,040
Speaker 8: a corner, the ball is past.

245
00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:03,680
Speaker 7: You shoot it.

246
00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:09,800
Speaker 1: Freddy McHale's dad made the four hour drive to Carthage

247
00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,720
Speaker 1: to watch his son play, and he hardly recognized the

248
00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:18,080
Speaker 1: confident player that McHale had become. Gone was the shy

249
00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,640
Speaker 1: high school kid who always passed on the big shot.

250
00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,440
Speaker 6: McHale Ooh, we just bloomed, and he just was a

251
00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,240
Speaker 6: late bloom and that's all. We went to one of

252
00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,840
Speaker 6: his games down there, but at the end of the

253
00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,240
Speaker 6: third quarter he had thirty two points and he didn't

254
00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,840
Speaker 6: even play it for a quarter. Everything he shot, I

255
00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,080
Speaker 6: mean knocking down everything, none but three pointers.

256
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:45,160
Speaker 1: Painola College was mchel's coming out party. His coaches said,

257
00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,200
Speaker 1: if the point guard passes you the ball, that means

258
00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,920
Speaker 1: you're open. And if you're open, shoot it every time.

259
00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,680
Speaker 8: Man. I had two crazy years in junior college. I

260
00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,360
Speaker 8: had like ninety something three in one year. Yeah, I

261
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,000
Speaker 8: was lighted up. Junior college was so much fun. It

262
00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:04,160
Speaker 8: was so much fun.

263
00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:09,080
Speaker 1: Mkale's confidence swored and he remembered everything his dad had

264
00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,840
Speaker 1: taught him on his grandma's backyard basketball court, how to

265
00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,080
Speaker 1: handle the ball with both hands. How to move without

266
00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:18,680
Speaker 1: the ball to get open, how to wait for the

267
00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,760
Speaker 1: top of your jump to release the ball, snap your

268
00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,720
Speaker 1: wrist and watch it splash into the net.

269
00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,680
Speaker 7: It's like one of the best feelings in basketball.

270
00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:31,680
Speaker 1: McHale caught a lot of people's attention with his three

271
00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,720
Speaker 1: point game at Panola. One of them was Phil Pearson,

272
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:40,760
Speaker 1: an assistant coach at the University of Alabama, that's Division one.

273
00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:45,160
Speaker 1: When coach Pearson found out that a recruiting deal between

274
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:49,800
Speaker 1: McHale and another school fell through, he drove straight to Panola.

275
00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,200
Speaker 9: I scooped you right up quick as I could and

276
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,360
Speaker 9: get him test Losa, just because I thought he's you know,

277
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,280
Speaker 9: he's coughing a player. Those guys are valuable. So we

278
00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:59,880
Speaker 9: were lucky to have a Mulagati And.

279
00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:03,960
Speaker 1: Just like that, McHale Riley went from waterboy to college

280
00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:15,479
Speaker 1: dropout to a starting guard for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

281
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,479
Speaker 1: McHale remembers showing up for the first day of practice

282
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:26,440
Speaker 1: at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. This is a

283
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:30,440
Speaker 1: big time college basketball program. They just made it to

284
00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,360
Speaker 1: the Final four in the twenty twenty four NCAA tournament.

285
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:39,280
Speaker 1: Old McHale, the shy, skinny high schooler, might have held

286
00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,400
Speaker 1: back or been intimidated, but not the new McHale.

287
00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,320
Speaker 7: Hey, there's no intimidation at all.

288
00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:48,760
Speaker 8: And it was a lot of freshmen coming in that

289
00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:52,240
Speaker 8: were supposed to be, you know, really good or whatever.

290
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:57,040
Speaker 7: But I came in. I remember Richard Hendricks he told me,

291
00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,880
Speaker 7: he said, man, you came in here. You made a state.

292
00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,320
Speaker 7: I was. I was hungry. I wanted my family to

293
00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:06,879
Speaker 7: see me playing on TV.

294
00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:12,960
Speaker 1: McHale earned a starting spot on a competitive Alabama squad.

295
00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,639
Speaker 1: Just like at Pinola, Michale made his name behind the

296
00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,879
Speaker 1: three point line. Here's coach Pearson again.

297
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,760
Speaker 9: So at six foot four five, he was a little

298
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,040
Speaker 9: bigger than a lot of guys that were guarding him.

299
00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:26,280
Speaker 9: He was able to shoot over.

300
00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,080
Speaker 5: The top of some guys. You know, just kind of

301
00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:28,280
Speaker 5: had a.

302
00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:31,160
Speaker 9: Knack for making shots. You know, maybe a little bit streaky,

303
00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:33,320
Speaker 9: but when he got going, he could make them.

304
00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,880
Speaker 1: Every time the ball was in Michal's hands, Coach Pearson

305
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,240
Speaker 1: and head coach Mark Gottfried said the same thing.

306
00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,560
Speaker 7: Shoot it. He even yelled at me if I did shoot.

307
00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:46,360
Speaker 8: The only thing he yelled at me before was the

308
00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,840
Speaker 8: lay defense or shoot them all and gives you all

309
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:50,879
Speaker 8: the companies in the world.

310
00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:54,359
Speaker 7: You can easily forget the missus with the type of companies.

311
00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:59,120
Speaker 1: In his first season at Alabama, McHale averaged more than

312
00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,760
Speaker 1: twelve points game. He was one of the team's leading

313
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:08,280
Speaker 1: scorers the following year. His senior year, McHale started out strong,

314
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:11,560
Speaker 1: but then fell into a shooting slump. Near the end

315
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:16,280
Speaker 1: of the regular season. The team struggled too. Michale had

316
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,320
Speaker 1: been averaging at least three three pointers a game, but

317
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:22,760
Speaker 1: there was a string of games where he just couldn't

318
00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:27,440
Speaker 1: find his shot. Then came Senior Night, the last home

319
00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:33,120
Speaker 1: game of McHale's final season at Alabama. It was against Vanderbilt,

320
00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,399
Speaker 1: and coach Pearson remembers that McHale's parents drove in for

321
00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:39,120
Speaker 1: their son's special night.

322
00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:43,119
Speaker 9: Freddy and Betty Riley from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and they

323
00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:45,720
Speaker 9: were good folks and his mother on senior Day. I

324
00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,760
Speaker 9: can remember his mother coming and man, she had on

325
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:52,639
Speaker 9: a great outfit. The cameras on television they kept showing

326
00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:54,880
Speaker 9: her on that senior day and he had a big day.

327
00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,920
Speaker 9: A big game was good win for us over Vanderbilt.

328
00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:01,920
Speaker 1: McHale finally broke out of his sl hitting six three

329
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,800
Speaker 1: pointers and scoring twenty six points in front of his parents.

330
00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:11,359
Speaker 1: All these years later, McHale's mom, Betty, still remembers what

331
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,080
Speaker 1: it was like to be in that crowd in Tuscaloosa

332
00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,639
Speaker 1: on senior night and to watch McHale have one of

333
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,200
Speaker 1: those dream games where everything went in.

334
00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:23,600
Speaker 9: Oh man, I mean that.

335
00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,720
Speaker 7: I was so thrilled. You know, just see my son.

336
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:28,879
Speaker 10: If I'm not to stake I think you one the

337
00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,760
Speaker 10: time when he hit a shock, they said, oh NBA shack, I.

338
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:38,119
Speaker 1: No one, Oh my god, but I was.

339
00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:43,480
Speaker 10: I am really really so proud, really I am.

340
00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:48,600
Speaker 1: Even with that big win over Vanderbilt, Alabama's record wasn't

341
00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:53,920
Speaker 1: great going into the Southeastern Conference Tournament. During the regular season,

342
00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:58,520
Speaker 1: Alabama was just five and eleven in the SEC five

343
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,520
Speaker 1: wins and eleven long losses. Their record wasn't good enough

344
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,879
Speaker 1: to earn them a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the

345
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:10,800
Speaker 1: big end of season college basketball attorney known as March Madness.

346
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,800
Speaker 9: We'd had a run there, man. We went five straight

347
00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:17,320
Speaker 9: nc DOUBLEA tournaments there from I guess it was two

348
00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:21,000
Speaker 9: to seven, won the league in O two Elite eight

349
00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,159
Speaker 9: O four. But then we kind of really, to be

350
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:27,200
Speaker 9: perfectly frank probably underachieved for what we had.

351
00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:27,600
Speaker 7: On our team.

352
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,560
Speaker 1: If they wanted to make it into March Madness, Alabama

353
00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,160
Speaker 1: had to win the SEC Tournament, and to do that,

354
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:39,359
Speaker 1: they'd have to win four straight games in four days.

355
00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,960
Speaker 9: Well yeah, I mean, I guess that's that's always the hope,

356
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,200
Speaker 9: and uh, you know, I'm sure at that point we're

357
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:46,560
Speaker 9: just hoping we could, you know, hey, get on a

358
00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:48,680
Speaker 9: roll somehow. If you can win four straight, you get

359
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,240
Speaker 9: a chance to playing the Cuba Tournament.

360
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,360
Speaker 1: The SEC Tournament was played at the Georgia Dome, one

361
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,920
Speaker 1: of the largest indoor stadiums in America. The Atlanta Falcons

362
00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:03,200
Speaker 1: played NFL games there. At full capacity, the Georgia Dome

363
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:08,320
Speaker 1: could hold eighty thousand spectators, but for basketball, much of

364
00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:12,560
Speaker 1: the arena was curtained off. Still, there were fourteen thousand

365
00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,960
Speaker 1: people on hand. In the first round, Alabama faced the

366
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:22,720
Speaker 1: two time defending national champions, the Florida Gators. While the

367
00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,640
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight Florida team had lost a lot

368
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:29,000
Speaker 1: of players to the NBA, they were still expected to

369
00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:35,600
Speaker 1: stomp Alabama. But McHale and Alabama came out swinging. McHale

370
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:40,320
Speaker 1: continued his hot shooting streak, tying the Alabama record with

371
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:46,000
Speaker 1: eight three pointers and twenty six points. Alabama won eighty

372
00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:52,520
Speaker 1: to sixty nine, a huge upset Improbably Alabama had survived

373
00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,120
Speaker 1: the first day of the SEC tournament and came back

374
00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:00,520
Speaker 1: the next night to play Mississippi State, a big time rival.

375
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,360
Speaker 9: A lot of people don't realize Alabama Misssippi State. They're

376
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,320
Speaker 9: separated by about eighty miles, so there was always been

377
00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,160
Speaker 9: a rivalry of sarce from Alaba. Missippi State, just really

378
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:11,200
Speaker 9: never sport.

379
00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:15,200
Speaker 1: The game between Alabama and Mississippi tipped off at seven

380
00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:19,280
Speaker 1: thirty eight pm on Friday night. About ten minutes later,

381
00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,800
Speaker 1: the National Weather Service issued a severe storm warning for

382
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:29,160
Speaker 1: the Atlanta metro area, lightning thunder winds up to forty

383
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,480
Speaker 1: five miles per hour. But that didn't mean anything to

384
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:36,320
Speaker 1: the rowdy crowd inside the Georgia Dome or to the

385
00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,119
Speaker 1: players on the court fighting for a spot in the

386
00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:44,600
Speaker 1: NCAA Tournament. Michale, who had played so brilliantly the day before,

387
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,639
Speaker 1: came out cold against Mississippi State. He missed his first

388
00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,720
Speaker 1: three shots, and he couldn't shake his defender, a hard

389
00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:59,600
Speaker 1: nosed Mississippi State player named Ben hansbro Finally, midway through

390
00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:03,679
Speaker 1: the first half, McHale hit his first three. It was

391
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:07,640
Speaker 1: like a light had switched on. His whole body language changed.

392
00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,680
Speaker 1: Over the next eleven minutes, McHale went on a run,

393
00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:16,720
Speaker 1: scoring thirteen points, punctuated by a steel and a thundering dunk.

394
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:21,440
Speaker 1: Alabama was up thirty six to twenty nine at halftime.

395
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:27,600
Speaker 1: Forty miles away, the severe thunderstorms predicted by the National

396
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:33,240
Speaker 1: Weather Service continued to bear down on Atlanta. Satellite images

397
00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 1: showed two supercells engaged in a slow, swirling dance. Soon

398
00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,920
Speaker 1: they merged into one giant storm and took on the

399
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:48,439
Speaker 1: ominous shape of a comma. That type of storm could,

400
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:54,520
Speaker 1: under the right conditions, produce a tornado. Outside the Georgia Dome,

401
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:58,680
Speaker 1: it started to rain inside. The second half started out

402
00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,840
Speaker 1: a lot like the first. McHale couldn't hit anything. He

403
00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:08,160
Speaker 1: airballed a three pointer, he missed a layup. He looked exhausted.

404
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 1: It was the second game in two days, and Alabama

405
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,880
Speaker 1: was gassed. With just over two minutes left in the game,

406
00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:20,040
Speaker 1: Mississippi State hits a three pointer and takes the lead.

407
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:25,040
Speaker 1: Alabama stays close but can't claw back in front. With

408
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:29,119
Speaker 1: just twenty seconds on the clock, Mississippi State is winning

409
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:33,119
Speaker 1: fifty eight to fifty six. Michale gets the ball at

410
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:35,800
Speaker 1: the top of the key, but he slips and throws

411
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:40,639
Speaker 1: a wild pass that's knocked out of bounds. In the

412
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:45,240
Speaker 1: next possession, his teammate Richard Hendrix, drives for a layup,

413
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:50,200
Speaker 1: but it's blocked and grabbed by Mississippi State. Alabama has

414
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:55,880
Speaker 1: no choice but to foul to stop the clock. Outside

415
00:24:56,040 --> 00:25:00,680
Speaker 1: the rain turns to Hale. With just seven one seconds

416
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,919
Speaker 1: remaining in the game, Mississippi State has a chance to

417
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:07,800
Speaker 1: seal the win with two free throws. They make the

418
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:12,240
Speaker 1: first one fifty nine fifty six Mississippi State. If they

419
00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,359
Speaker 1: make the next foul shot, it becomes a four point

420
00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:20,159
Speaker 1: lead and Alabama has almost no chance of winning. But

421
00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:25,240
Speaker 1: the second foul shot bounces out a mini miracle. Alabama

422
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,720
Speaker 1: grabs the rebound and goes streaking up the court. Five

423
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:33,560
Speaker 1: seconds four seconds, Mississippi State tries to foul but knocks

424
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:35,960
Speaker 1: the ball out of bounds past the half court line.

425
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:40,360
Speaker 1: There are now two seconds on the clock. Two seconds

426
00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:44,399
Speaker 1: for Alabama to draw up a desperation play to heave

427
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,679
Speaker 1: up a three pointer and tie the game. Alabama calls

428
00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:55,879
Speaker 1: a time out. Freddy and Betty Riley were home in

429
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,200
Speaker 1: Pine Bluff watching the game on their big TV in

430
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,720
Speaker 1: the living room. McHale hadn't played his best game, not

431
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:06,280
Speaker 1: by far, but Freddy had no doubt about who should

432
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:07,640
Speaker 1: take the last shot.

433
00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:12,280
Speaker 6: I knew Pacht Godfrey was gonna set up a play

434
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,800
Speaker 6: to get Michale the ball. I remember that if anybody

435
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,800
Speaker 6: could get the shot off and possibly make it, it

436
00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:20,960
Speaker 6: would be Michale.

437
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,560
Speaker 1: Coach Pearson was in the Alabama huddle, and Freddie was

438
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:26,200
Speaker 1: right on.

439
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:28,800
Speaker 9: The guy's gonna make shot. Michail Riley the sort of

440
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:30,359
Speaker 9: gonna be the guy that could do it. I'm sure

441
00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:32,280
Speaker 9: if Mississippi State had it to do over again, they

442
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,200
Speaker 9: would have done whatever they could have done to keep

443
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:35,240
Speaker 9: the ball off of Michiale.

444
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:35,520
Speaker 5: Riley.

445
00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:37,440
Speaker 9: Everybody and everybody in the dull knew that he was

446
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:38,800
Speaker 9: gonna be the guy that we're gonna try to get

447
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:39,159
Speaker 9: the ball to.

448
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:44,320
Speaker 1: The play was called screen Rilo, McHale's nickname. On the

449
00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:48,400
Speaker 1: inbounds pass. One of McHale's teammates would screen the defender

450
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:52,080
Speaker 1: and michale would try to break free for a clean look.

451
00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,679
Speaker 8: Don't coming off the screen and I'm open, you know

452
00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:57,439
Speaker 8: the guys behind me.

453
00:26:57,880 --> 00:26:58,719
Speaker 7: I turned around.

454
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,199
Speaker 8: I swing through, hoping that he puts his hand in

455
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:04,840
Speaker 8: there at the same time as I'm going up to shoot.

456
00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:07,400
Speaker 7: When he lift my hand, it was iffy. I wasn't

457
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:08,360
Speaker 7: really sure.

458
00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:14,080
Speaker 1: Freddy and Betty lost their minds. The crowd in the

459
00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 1: Georgia Dome went crazy. McHale's teammates swarmed him. He had

460
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:24,840
Speaker 1: pulled off a miracle three and tied the game for Alabama.

461
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:29,520
Speaker 6: When he went up and he released that ball, and

462
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,240
Speaker 6: that ball and like it hit the rim and then

463
00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:35,640
Speaker 6: it went that way and hit the backboard and then

464
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:38,639
Speaker 6: come back and like it was rolling around and just

465
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:42,400
Speaker 6: she lived, just like it was a rocist shot and

466
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:43,360
Speaker 6: then dropped in.

467
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:48,359
Speaker 1: Sixteen years later, McHale still remembers how it felt.

468
00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:52,640
Speaker 8: It's kind of indescribable, Like I don't know how You're

469
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,439
Speaker 8: so like into the moment and you don't know what

470
00:27:55,480 --> 00:28:00,159
Speaker 8: you're really feeling, you know, because you're like screaming and like, oh,

471
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,480
Speaker 8: you got your teammates running next to fill a whole

472
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,800
Speaker 8: bunch of things at the same time, so mostly excited.

473
00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:09,359
Speaker 7: You know, for sure, and just pumped up and I

474
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:10,800
Speaker 7: like this and leave.

475
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,960
Speaker 1: You know, it went in, you know, by tying the

476
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:18,760
Speaker 1: score fifty nine to fifty nine, McHale sent the game

477
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:23,879
Speaker 1: into overtime. Shooters like McHale Riley live for that moment,

478
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,240
Speaker 1: hitting a last second clutch shot that saves the game.

479
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,119
Speaker 1: What McHale didn't know at the time was that his

480
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 1: miraculous three point shot didn't just save the game, it

481
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:53,600
Speaker 1: might have also saved thousands of lives. McHale Riley hit

482
00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:58,400
Speaker 1: the last second, buzzer beating, game tying three pointer for

483
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:03,800
Speaker 1: Alabama at around nine thirty PM in Atlanta. Neither McHale

484
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:07,480
Speaker 1: nor anyone else inside the Georgia Dome had any idea

485
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:12,800
Speaker 1: what was happening outside the stadium. In short, all hell

486
00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:18,600
Speaker 1: was breaking loose. A massive EF two class tornado had

487
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,480
Speaker 1: touched down in Atlanta. It was the first time in

488
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:26,320
Speaker 1: the city's history that a tornado tore a path directly

489
00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,600
Speaker 1: through downtown Atlanta, and it was headed straight for the

490
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:36,440
Speaker 1: Georgia Dome. Oblivious to the destruction outside, the Mississippi State

491
00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,959
Speaker 1: and Alabama players took the court for overtime. The clock

492
00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:45,479
Speaker 1: was reset for five minutes and play resumed. But about

493
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:50,640
Speaker 1: halfway through the overtime period, something very strange started to happen.

494
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:52,000
Speaker 1: Here's Michail.

495
00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:54,760
Speaker 8: I think we had just scored it coming back down,

496
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:57,440
Speaker 8: and all of a sudden, it sounded like a train

497
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,280
Speaker 8: was right outside the arena.

498
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:06,680
Speaker 1: Imagine a sound so loud that a college basketball player

499
00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,200
Speaker 1: in the middle of a super important game inside of

500
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,360
Speaker 1: a massive stadium would stop in his tracks and ask,

501
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:15,600
Speaker 1: is that a train?

502
00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:17,600
Speaker 9: Yeah, it was loud.

503
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,680
Speaker 1: That's coach Pearson again. Not only did he hear the

504
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:26,160
Speaker 1: unearthly roar, but he looked up and saw something even stranger.

505
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:31,360
Speaker 1: The massive teflon roof of the Georgia Dome was rolling

506
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,800
Speaker 1: toward him in nauseating ways.

507
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:35,720
Speaker 9: I mean, it's almost like you know when you had

508
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:37,800
Speaker 9: your sheets on your bed and you're kind of straightening

509
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:39,600
Speaker 9: them out, you know. It was that kind of ruffling,

510
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,080
Speaker 9: and that's doing the root, you know, I mean, for

511
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:43,960
Speaker 9: one hundreds of yards kind of coming to you.

512
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:44,959
Speaker 5: It was.

513
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:47,520
Speaker 9: It was something I don't think I'll ever forget.

514
00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:47,920
Speaker 7: I'd tell you.

515
00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:52,760
Speaker 1: That as the roof waved violently overhead, material began to

516
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,840
Speaker 1: rain down on the court and the crowd. Bits of

517
00:30:55,960 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 1: shredded insulation and plastic sciting floated down like snow. Screws

518
00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,200
Speaker 1: and bolts were pried loose and fell to the court

519
00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:10,000
Speaker 1: with an unsettling rattle. The referees blew their whistles stop

520
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,080
Speaker 1: the game, and the players were herded off the court.

521
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,280
Speaker 8: I didn't know what was going on until it was

522
00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:20,080
Speaker 8: like Tornado, warned the Tornado War. Stuff is starting to fall.

523
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:22,800
Speaker 8: As I'm walking off the floor, I'm looking and walking

524
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,720
Speaker 8: at the same time. I see stuff is swinging the

525
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:30,320
Speaker 8: jumbo tron, the catwalks up there. Everything is just swinging,

526
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,920
Speaker 8: and you know, bows is falling on the course.

527
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:37,600
Speaker 1: On TV, the broadcast faded in and out of static.

528
00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:43,120
Speaker 1: Freddy and Betty Riley went from elation to worry. Was

529
00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:44,320
Speaker 1: mchail in trouble?

530
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,360
Speaker 6: We started seeing stuff falling from the top of the

531
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:51,200
Speaker 6: dome and coming down on the floor, and we didn't

532
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:52,240
Speaker 6: know what was going on.

533
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,160
Speaker 1: For the next hour, the players and coaches from Alabama

534
00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:00,400
Speaker 1: and Mississippi State huddled in their locker rooms. They waited

535
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,320
Speaker 1: for word from the tournament organizers if the game was

536
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:07,840
Speaker 1: going to resume. News trickled in about a tornado possibly

537
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:12,840
Speaker 1: touching down in Atlanta, but details were scarce. Most of

538
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:17,000
Speaker 1: the crowd of fourteen thousand stuck around two. They made

539
00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,200
Speaker 1: phone calls to anxious friends and family who were watching

540
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,360
Speaker 1: the game on TV. There was some kind of crazy

541
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:27,080
Speaker 1: storm outside, but they were safe inside the Georgia Dome.

542
00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:31,480
Speaker 1: They were okay. When it was safe to return to

543
00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:35,560
Speaker 1: the court, the game resumed. It was nearing eleven PM

544
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,600
Speaker 1: at this point, but there was still over two minutes

545
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:43,520
Speaker 1: on the clock. The SEC tournament must go on. The

546
00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:48,400
Speaker 1: storm had rattled everyone's nerves, but both teams really wanted

547
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:53,520
Speaker 1: to win. In the final seconds of overtime, Alabama was

548
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:58,120
Speaker 1: down by two. Incredibly, McHale got another chance to be

549
00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:02,280
Speaker 1: a hero and make another their last second miracle shot,

550
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:10,920
Speaker 1: but this time his shot rattled out. Alabama lost. Their

551
00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:15,440
Speaker 1: season was over, and so was mchail's college basketball career.

552
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,719
Speaker 1: After the game, McHale finally got in touch with his parents,

553
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:24,200
Speaker 1: who congratulated him on the big shot that sent it

554
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,959
Speaker 1: into overtime. They tried to cheer him up after the loss.

555
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:33,000
Speaker 1: By this point, the tornado was big news. Local TV

556
00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:37,040
Speaker 1: channels were showing footage of the damage. The roof was

557
00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:41,239
Speaker 1: torn off the Cotton Mill Lofts in downtown Atlanta. A

558
00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 1: gaping hole was punched in the roof of the World

559
00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:49,320
Speaker 1: Congress Center. Parked cars had been tossed around downtown streets.

560
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:55,760
Speaker 1: Brick facades came crumbling down near Olympic Centennial Park. Hearing

561
00:33:55,800 --> 00:34:00,160
Speaker 1: about the devastation of the tornado, one of Mchaal's teammates,

562
00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:04,760
Speaker 1: Brandon Hollinger, said something that had never crossed McHale's mind.

563
00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,000
Speaker 8: Once I had finished talking to my parents, he said

564
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,160
Speaker 8: I aloud. He was like, dude, you know you could

565
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:12,399
Speaker 8: stop a lot of people from getting hurt. I hadn't

566
00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:15,320
Speaker 8: even thought about it in that since until he said something.

567
00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:19,920
Speaker 1: What did Brandon mean? How did McHale's shot prevent a

568
00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:24,360
Speaker 1: lot of people from getting hurt? Think about it. McHale

569
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:28,200
Speaker 1: hit his shot at nine thirty pm. If he had

570
00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:30,960
Speaker 1: missed it, the game would have been over. Many of

571
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,480
Speaker 1: the fourteen thousand fans in attendance at the Georgia Dome

572
00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:38,000
Speaker 1: would have stuck around for the late game between Kentucky

573
00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:42,720
Speaker 1: and Georgia, but a few thousand Alabama and Mississippi State

574
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:46,680
Speaker 1: fans would have headed for the exits. If those people

575
00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:51,400
Speaker 1: walked outside at that moment, they would have stepped directly

576
00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:55,640
Speaker 1: into the path of a tornado. Instead of one fatality

577
00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:58,799
Speaker 1: that night in Atlanta, there could have been hundreds.

578
00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:00,880
Speaker 2: I think it could tremendously worse.

579
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:04,920
Speaker 1: That's Jen Narramore again, our meteorologist friend.

580
00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:07,480
Speaker 2: So you're talking five ten thousand people could have been

581
00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:11,040
Speaker 2: exiting the Georgia Dome right when the tornado was coming through,

582
00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:13,080
Speaker 2: and they could have walked right into some of the

583
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,720
Speaker 2: strongest winds. They could have had windows, parts of roof

584
00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:19,680
Speaker 2: blown and landing on them. I think their jury account

585
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,239
Speaker 2: would have been tremendously worse, and sadly, I do think

586
00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:23,680
Speaker 2: that there could have been more fatalities.

587
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:26,680
Speaker 1: Most of the out of town fans were staying at

588
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,719
Speaker 1: hotels nearby and had walked to the Georgia Dome. They

589
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,440
Speaker 1: would have been making their way back to places like

590
00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:37,319
Speaker 1: the Omni Hotel, where many windows were blown out by

591
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:41,920
Speaker 1: the tornado, or the Weston which witnesses described as a

592
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:47,279
Speaker 1: war zone. Brandon Hollinger was right. Thousands of people could

593
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:50,239
Speaker 1: have been out on the street of downtown Atlanta in

594
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,439
Speaker 1: the path of a deadly tornado, but they weren't all

595
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:59,000
Speaker 1: because a basketball game between Alabama and Mississippi State went

596
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:03,440
Speaker 1: into overtime because a shy kid from Pine Bluff, Arkansas

597
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,600
Speaker 1: made the shot that saved their lives.

598
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:09,920
Speaker 2: He is a hero for shure that three pointer and

599
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,399
Speaker 2: getting that in and pushing the game into overtime. Absolutely,

600
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:15,960
Speaker 2: And it's just one of those things where you just

601
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:17,920
Speaker 2: look back and think about it, You're like, man, if

602
00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:19,720
Speaker 2: he had not done that, what would have happened.

603
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:25,640
Speaker 1: As Atlanton's woke Saturday morning to scenes of destruction and chaos,

604
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,520
Speaker 1: the reality of what happened the night before began to

605
00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:34,560
Speaker 1: sink in. A tornado had touched down in Atlanta in

606
00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:39,000
Speaker 1: the middle of the SEC tournament, but instead of mourning

607
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:45,840
Speaker 1: a tragedy, people were celebrating a miracle, McHale's miracle. McHale

608
00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:50,640
Speaker 1: was interviewed on CNN Sports Illustrated ran a story. For

609
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:55,200
Speaker 1: a brief moment, the entire sports media world paused and

610
00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:58,920
Speaker 1: took stock of what had happened in Atlanta and what

611
00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:03,680
Speaker 1: hadn't happened. And for Freddie Riley, there's no question that

612
00:37:03,719 --> 00:37:06,879
Speaker 1: what michale did back in two thousand and eight qualifies

613
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:08,400
Speaker 1: as a miracle.

614
00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:10,040
Speaker 7: That was a shadow of a lifetime.

615
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,399
Speaker 6: It really was what wins up as high as one

616
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:17,680
Speaker 6: hundred and twenty mile hour wins. That's rush and I

617
00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:20,439
Speaker 6: thank God. I think he was the instrument that God

618
00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:22,799
Speaker 6: used to keep him on inside.

619
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:26,920
Speaker 1: It's been sixteen years since that fateful night in Atlanta,

620
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:31,160
Speaker 1: but Michale says that every March, without fail, he still

621
00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:34,960
Speaker 1: gets messages from people who were in the crowd inside

622
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:35,919
Speaker 1: the Georgia Dome.

623
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:40,040
Speaker 8: I still give messages to city today, still give messages

624
00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:43,960
Speaker 8: today and they say thank you. You know, I still

625
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,759
Speaker 8: remember this and they always say the shot they saved

626
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:50,280
Speaker 8: my life and thank you.

627
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:50,480
Speaker 10: You know.

628
00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:55,719
Speaker 8: It's crazy, it's crazy to me. I'm still talking about

629
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:58,280
Speaker 8: this toy day Wow.

630
00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:03,800
Speaker 1: After college, Michael started playing professional basketball, mostly in France.

631
00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:07,680
Speaker 1: He's been there ever since. His parents have visited him

632
00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:11,240
Speaker 1: in Paris a bunch of times. His mom still shows

633
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,640
Speaker 1: everybody the pictures of her in front of the Eiffel Tower.

634
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:16,160
Speaker 7: Plenty of friends. Of these years.

635
00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:19,239
Speaker 8: Has been all I can ask for, because I would

636
00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:22,320
Speaker 8: never thought I would ever see parents friends in my life.

637
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,680
Speaker 7: But he's definitely been the experience and the adventure that

638
00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:26,600
Speaker 7: I would ever forget.

639
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:29,000
Speaker 8: I would cherish for the rest of my life, this

640
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:30,320
Speaker 8: whole journey that I've had.

641
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:35,319
Speaker 1: Freddie couldn't be more proud, not just of Michael the

642
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:38,440
Speaker 1: professional basketball player, but Michael the man.

643
00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:43,160
Speaker 6: I'm proud that he took the upbringing our teacher is

644
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,279
Speaker 6: stayed within him everywhere he had gone, and he went

645
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:48,960
Speaker 6: over to France and he made a name for himself,

646
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:52,640
Speaker 6: and it's just amazing how the people talk about him,

647
00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:57,040
Speaker 6: and you can't we can't be none but proud parents.

648
00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:01,960
Speaker 6: They really, I mean people really talk about it. Oh lord,

649
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,440
Speaker 6: They are really crazy about Michale.

650
00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:08,680
Speaker 1: What's become clear to Michale all these years later is

651
00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:12,720
Speaker 1: that there would never have been a miracle shot without

652
00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:17,760
Speaker 1: everything that came before it, starting on Grandma's backyard court

653
00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:21,080
Speaker 1: and his dad teaching him the secret of the jump

654
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:23,239
Speaker 1: shot under an Arkansas moon.

655
00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:24,840
Speaker 7: Oh you already know.

656
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,640
Speaker 8: It's always good to make your parents proud of you know,

657
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:29,920
Speaker 8: saying it's always good to make your parents proud. You know,

658
00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,200
Speaker 8: they even there from the high school days and get cut.

659
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:38,000
Speaker 8: Oh man, I'm pried who They've been there through it all.

660
00:39:38,239 --> 00:39:40,440
Speaker 7: It definitely is a good feeling. They have him proud

661
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:40,680
Speaker 7: of me.

662
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:45,080
Speaker 1: Michael is going to retire soon. He's pushing forty and

663
00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:49,120
Speaker 1: even in France, that's old for a basketball player. When

664
00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:52,880
Speaker 1: he does stop playing professionally, he already knows what he

665
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:57,600
Speaker 1: wants to do. McHale wants to coach kids during COVID

666
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:01,360
Speaker 1: when his professional season was canceled, Michael came back to

667
00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:04,160
Speaker 1: Arkansas and worked with ten and twelve year olds on

668
00:40:04,239 --> 00:40:04,719
Speaker 1: their game.

669
00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:07,880
Speaker 8: And I really really enjoyed it because once you know,

670
00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:10,399
Speaker 8: you trained the kid, you know, help with a move

671
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:11,880
Speaker 8: or something, and then he used that move in the

672
00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:14,520
Speaker 8: game and he scored with it. I didn't even care

673
00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,080
Speaker 8: about the money, like, because now you're the problem, you know,

674
00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:19,239
Speaker 8: like like you're on the other end, like somebody was

675
00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:19,879
Speaker 8: proud of you.

676
00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:21,719
Speaker 7: Now you're the problem.

677
00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,480
Speaker 8: And I'm like, wow, that is exactly how he started, you know,

678
00:40:26,719 --> 00:40:27,960
Speaker 8: doing Jackie full circle.

679
00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:30,280
Speaker 7: Yeah really man.

680
00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:39,480
Speaker 1: All right, Darren, before we even get into the conversation,

681
00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:41,360
Speaker 1: have you cast this story?

682
00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:43,239
Speaker 5: You know I have?

683
00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:45,160
Speaker 4: So this is kind of a simple one because I

684
00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:49,120
Speaker 4: just basically focused on Mikael Riley and his pop's Freddy right.

685
00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:53,239
Speaker 4: So it's just like basically I wanted Jay Ellis from Insecure, right,

686
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:55,359
Speaker 4: because he's tall, he's got HiPE. I can see him

687
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,560
Speaker 4: pulling it off. He's charismatic. You're going to root for

688
00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:00,880
Speaker 4: that kid, and then also for his pops Freddie. I'm thinking,

689
00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:03,719
Speaker 4: all right, this one is a casting idea for him

690
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:05,960
Speaker 4: to win back the hearts of audiences in Hollywood.

691
00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:09,000
Speaker 5: Will Smith, He's already played a dad. He can do it.

692
00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:11,560
Speaker 1: He is a dad, right, he does a sports dad

693
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:14,880
Speaker 1: redemption story exactly. Who's the voice of the Tornado?

694
00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:18,600
Speaker 5: I did not cast that. That's amazing given me ideas.

695
00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:21,399
Speaker 1: Oh no, well not off the top of my head.

696
00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:23,000
Speaker 1: You're the one who's really good at casting.

697
00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:24,719
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, who do we want to hear? Is

698
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:26,960
Speaker 5: the voice of a storm?

699
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:30,080
Speaker 3: Cast yourself? You're done vo on these.

700
00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:33,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, you have a great voice, Aaron a podcast voice.

701
00:41:33,239 --> 00:41:33,479
Speaker 7: Yeah.

702
00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:35,360
Speaker 4: Well, I'd actually have to defer to my father on

703
00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:38,400
Speaker 4: the voices, so I'll just say him over over myself.

704
00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:42,359
Speaker 3: There's a number of good lessons in this episode. It's

705
00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,799
Speaker 3: so easy to assume that anyone who's really good at

706
00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,120
Speaker 3: something was always really good at that thing, And in

707
00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:51,000
Speaker 3: this one we have pretty deep in his high school career.

708
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:52,680
Speaker 5: Is the literal water boy.

709
00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:55,000
Speaker 3: He can't make the team, and you know four or

710
00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:58,719
Speaker 3: five years later he's in the SEC tournament Alabama.

711
00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:00,759
Speaker 5: That's starting. I mean, like, are you kidding me?

712
00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:02,719
Speaker 4: He did something no one has ever made me do,

713
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:04,960
Speaker 4: which is root for Alabama.

714
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:08,040
Speaker 1: For me, it's like, you know how people are always

715
00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:10,839
Speaker 1: like Albert Einstein failed his high school math, but the

716
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:12,680
Speaker 1: truth is he did not. Like that's just like a

717
00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:15,120
Speaker 1: story that people say to make themselves feel better. This

718
00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:17,080
Speaker 1: is like that for real. It's like you can be

719
00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:19,640
Speaker 1: a water boy in high school and still be a

720
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:22,600
Speaker 1: star during college, and you can do a basketball shop

721
00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:25,400
Speaker 1: that will save potentially thousands of human lives.

722
00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:26,759
Speaker 5: What a beautiful way to be a hero.

723
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,560
Speaker 4: You know you're always excited about like, oh, they saved

724
00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:31,680
Speaker 4: the game, but he saves the people.

725
00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:34,040
Speaker 5: It's the better hero story for sports.

726
00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:37,200
Speaker 1: The real lesson here is that our meteorologists need to

727
00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:40,319
Speaker 1: up their game and warn people about when there's going

728
00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:43,080
Speaker 1: to be storms, because it feels like the entire city

729
00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:44,359
Speaker 1: was taken by surprise.

730
00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:46,319
Speaker 5: Completely completely. Did you ever want to be a storm

731
00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:47,040
Speaker 5: chaser earther of you.

732
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:48,719
Speaker 9: No, absolutely not.

733
00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:52,600
Speaker 3: Run away from all the storms.

734
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:55,799
Speaker 1: I want to be inside, somewhere safe and cozy with

735
00:42:55,920 --> 00:42:57,480
Speaker 1: doors locked and closed.

736
00:42:57,680 --> 00:43:00,440
Speaker 3: My very special character for this one yours.

737
00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:01,520
Speaker 5: I'm going with Grandma.

738
00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:06,680
Speaker 3: None of this happens without Grandma taking her windfall, bring

739
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,640
Speaker 3: that into the backyard and doing right for the neighborhood.

740
00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:11,160
Speaker 5: I loved it. Oh my god, I love that.

741
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:14,320
Speaker 1: This is a good callar, who's your very special character?

742
00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:16,600
Speaker 4: I was gonna go with the storm because I was

743
00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:18,400
Speaker 4: root for the villain, you know, so I was just like,

744
00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:20,440
Speaker 4: I got in this one. It's the storm, but Grandma's

745
00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:22,759
Speaker 4: the better call. I really want to rethink this. What

746
00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:23,279
Speaker 4: about you?

747
00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:25,439
Speaker 1: I'm going storm? Voiced by your dad?

748
00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:27,640
Speaker 5: Okay, there we go the tripecta.

749
00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:33,759
Speaker 3: That's a when Very Special Episodes is made by some

750
00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:37,320
Speaker 3: very special people. This show was hosted by Danas Schwartz,

751
00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:42,080
Speaker 3: Zaren Burnett and me Jason English. Today's episode was written

752
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:46,920
Speaker 3: by Dave Bruce. Our producer is Josh Fisher. Editing and

753
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:52,040
Speaker 3: sound design by Chris Childs, Mixing and mastering by Beheid Frasier.

754
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:57,920
Speaker 3: Original music by Elise McCoy. Show logo by Lucy Kintania

755
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:02,200
Speaker 3: and I'm your executive. If you'd like to email the

756
00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:04,440
Speaker 3: show for any reason, you can reach us at Very

757
00:44:04,520 --> 00:44:08,560
Speaker 3: Special Episodes at gmail dot com. Very Special Episodes is

758
00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:10,520
Speaker 3: a production of iHeart podcasts,