There’s A 1st Time For Everything

I am going to take a moment from my normal duties as a writer and call an audible. Saturday night, thanks to help from some wonderful Facebook friends, I attended my first Alabama football game. Here are some thoughts about my first experience at Bryant-Denny Stadium!

The first thing you have to do as a new fan, is check out the Walk of Champions. Waiting in line, I wasn't sure what expect. Next thing you know, you see police cars and 3 separate buses of players. Thunderstruck by AC/DC begins to play, and that's what you hear the roar of the crowd as Alabama head coach Nick Saban led his team towards the entrance of the stadium!

One thing I love to do inside of new stadium's is to study the area. What I mean by that, is that I like to visualize everything around me. The seats (as much as there could be because of COVID-19), the big A in the middle of the field and the smells of the food and grass on the field. Bryant-Denny Stadium is a place that does really well with the atmosphere of college football, even with restrictions in place.

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the food. One of the main things you have to do when you go to an Alabama game, is to have a Denny Dog. This hot-dog is given to you along with a cup of sauce. While I am not 100 percent sure what is in it, its mix of ingredients make it a spicy, yet satisfying addition to the game-day experience. It tastes really, really good.

Lastly, the lights. Now this may seem like an obvious one, but seeing it on TV and being there are clearly two different things. When a touchdown happens, there is a roar of an elephant and the lights come down and flash the colors of the Crimson Tide. The lighting throughout the different musical selections, including Dixieland Delight (which was my first time singing in public with twenty thousand others) make for a very unique experience.

My one complaint isn't so much about the stadium, but it is more of a wish. I wish that the band had the chance to be on the field. The Million-Dollar Band is a staple of the University of Alabama and it would have been a cool opportunity to see them on the field. I am aware that restrictions prevent this, but I really felt like I missed out on that part of the experience.

Bottom line, Bryant-Denny Stadium was an absolutely amazing experience. Alabama won the game 41-0 over Mississippi State, but it was the game-day experience for me personally that won. It's the old saying:

You'll never forget your first.