Crowd atmosphere is so important to the college athletics landscape and this past year proved it so.
With stadiums only being allowed small portions of their total capacity to attend these sporting events, teams and fans were greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this past weekend shed hopeful light on what is to come down the line as vaccines continue to roll out and positive tests drop. During Alabama’s A-Day spring game, which was canceled last season, Bryant-Denny Stadium was allowed to hold 50% of its usual 100,000 plus capacity.
The game saw a turnout of approximately 47,218 fans in the stands which is the biggest gathering of fans at a sporting event in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic according to Yahoo Sports.
Head coach Nick Saban shared his appreciation for the turnout and overall support following the game.
“I’d like to thank all the folks that came out today, especially students,” Saban said. “I thought there was a great number of students there today to support our team and also support and their appreciation for the national championship team.”
Alabama athletics shared back in March that it hopes to conduct the football season with a stadium at full capacity when the fall rolls around.
“I certainly appreciate all the people that came out today to honor that team and support our players this year,” Saban said.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
