The first year after its new stadium expansion changed Bryant-Denny Stadium from seating 92,138 screaming fans to 101,821, Alabama became the No. 1 school in football attendance in the SEC. The Crimson Tide was also ranked No. 4 in the nation in football attendance.
“It’s great,” said junior linebacker Courtney Upshaw. “We thrive off the fans and how loud they are. We try and get the win not only for us, but for the Alabama fans because we know what good fans they are.”
Alabama sold out all seven home games during the 2010 season while playing the following opponents at Bryant-Denny Stadium: San Jose State, Penn State, Florida, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Auburn and Georgia State.
“It’s wonderful,” said junior defensive lineman Marcell Dareus. “I don’t think there are many fans like Alabama fans. They have our back when we’re winning, losing, it doesn’t matter. They’re still going to be there and they’re still going to cheer for us 100 percent.”
And while the Tide football team appreciates its fans’ support, the fans strongly believe that going to an Alabama football game in Bryant-Denny Stadium is unlike the gameday experience in any other college stadium.
“There really aren’t any words to describe the experience of watching a game in Bryant-Denny,” said Sam Solomon, a senior majoring in business management. “It feels like you’re about to go into battle with 101,821 people just expressing more excitement, confidence and trust that our team will be victorious on and off the field.”
But after hearing about Alabama’s new record-breaking football attendance, some fans not only expressed their pride in the program and new stadium, but also were confident that if the school were to add more seats they would be filled just as quickly.
“[The ranking] is a pretty impressive statistic,” said John Hails, a senior majoring in political science. “It really says an enormous amount about our fan base. It makes me feel as if we could add another 50,000 seats and still sell out every home game.”
And that’s just how crazy the Tide’s fan base is about its football team. Just being a part of the team brings the fans a sense of pride.
“At Bryant-Denny, all the fans, regardless of age or price of the seat, cheer just as loud as the person next to them,” Solomon said. “Everyone in the stadium partaking in the countless traditions the Capstone encapsulates is what makes Bryant-Denny the unique [stadium] it is today.”
And while the fans’ volume and enthusiasm for the game adds to Bryant-Denny Stadium’s atmosphere, it may make opposing teams nervous, affecting the outcome of the game.
After the stadium expansion, players said they were shocked at how much the fans can influence what goes on on the field.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a game where Bryant-Denny has ever been that loud,” sophomore linebacker Dont’a Hightower said after this year’s Iron Bowl. “They helped us out a lot on third and short yardage. Every time we were out on the field, I feel like the fans helped us out.”
