FSU Football right to move opener site despite uncertainty of storm

FSU Football made the right move to relocate their opener against Boise State from Jacksonville despite the fact that Hurricane Doria won’t hit this weekend.

It was a question that fans of the FSU football team were asking for days – would the Seminoles still play their opener against Boise State in Jacksonville, where it was scheduled to be played, despite the threat of Hurricane Dorian in the Atlantic Ocean and the uncertainty of where in the state of Florida it will strike.

After two days, the school and athletics program – after speaking with officials from the ACC, ESPN, Boise State and the city of Jacksonville – made the decision to move the game to Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee and move kickoff from 7 p.m. to noon on Saturday.

"“After consulting with emergency responders, law enforcement and hurricane preparedness teams at the state and local level, moving the game is the best option given the information we have at this time,” said FSU Director of Athletics David Coburn."

Florida State Seminoles Football

It was a move the FSU football team made despite the fact that we are not sure whether Dorian will even hit the state of Florida at this point (I mean, even me with a B- in my one meteorology course taken while a student at Florida State knows it’s coming, but nothing is for sure as of Friday) and with all the extra issues that came with the move.

But it was the right move to make.

It was a move that, quite honestly, should have been made earlier in the week. When the first models showed up Tuesday night into Wednesday morning showing the storm was going to hit Florida as a major storm – possibly Category 4 at this point – the move should have been announced.

I get that it takes A LOT to move a major football game involving the Seminoles and the Broncos about 150 miles west – between the logistics of the teams as well as things like security, getting Doak ready, concessions, parking, hotels and more – but the safety of the fans of both teams as well as those who need to get back home come first.

As someone who lives in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, it meant that I could not make it to the game as it added travel time with work requirements – but as someone who has covered storms that have hit every part of the state for the last decade and a half, it was a move that needed to happen and should have taken place.

FSU football may be lucky to have 40,000 people inside of Doak on Saturday for the opener – remember, you can get general admission tickets by clicking on this link and students get in free for both schools – but as much as we are fans of the Seminoles, we are fans of being safe first.