If you thought Crimson Tide fans were going to let a pandemic get in the way of watching their favorite team in person, you thought very wrong.
On a very special day where Crimson Tide faithful honored past champions while getting a glimpse at possible future championship players, fans shunned any concerns about Covid or social distancing and streamed into Bryant-Denney Stadium.
The announced attendance was 47,218.
The large Alabama crowd dethroned the Texas Rangers for the largest attendance since sporting venues began opening up again. The Rangers home opener drew an announced crowd of 38,238, just shy of its 40,300 capacity. Impressive though it was, Saturday’s 47,000-plus in Tuscaloosa was nowhere near the 101,281 seat capacity at Bryant-Denney.
It is nonetheless incredible that a scrimmage at Alabama drew more than a Major League Baseball game.
Alabama has no mask mandate, and many businesses have chosen to allow their mask requirements to expire with the governor’s rescinding of the mask order.