Stadium filling gradually an hour before kickoff
September 06, 2008
TUSCALOOSA—An hour before game time and Bono is singing “Beautiful Day” on the stadium speakers.
Hard to argue. The stands are filling, the early groups are warming up and the cloud formation over the east side of the stadium is eerily similar to the cloud scene on the intro to The Simpsons.
Breeze is actually cooling things off a bit, too.
With a new No. 13 national ranking, Alabama’s home opener should be pretty raucous.
The Tide played nine true freshmen last week against Clemson—starters wide receiver Julio Jones and inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Others included running back Mark Ingram, receivers B.J. Scott and Chris Jackson, linebacker Chris Jordan, defensive backs Mark Barron and Robby Green and defensive lineman Macel Dareus. Redshirt freshmen Marquis Maze and Chris Underwood also saw the field for the first time, as did junior college transfer nose tackle Terrence Cody.
The nine true freshmen tied Alabama for sixth nationally in participation numbers last week with Houston. Air Force, Central Michigan and Florida each played 10 true freshmen. Iowa State fielded 11. And SMU played 13 true freshmen last week.
