Crimson Corner: To Energize Bryant-Denny Stadium with New Music, the Math is Simple
Before we get started: let this serve as a trigger warning for the older Crimson Tide faithful regarding updating music in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
You have been warned.
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Bright and early on Thursday morning, Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne opted to send the younger Crimson Tide football fan base into a frenzy on social media.
The frenzy circulated around excitement for one simple thing: updating the music played in Bryant-Denny Stadium. For years now, younger fans have clamored for the playlists to be updated with more modern songs to reflect the shifting environment.
Now, it appears that the students' voices might be heard.
Listen, I'm all for tradition. Dixieland Delight in the fourth quarter (without the obnoxious 'Beat Auburn' blared loudly into one's ears every chorus) and other traditions like Enter the Sandman gotta stay. However, if Byrne wants to make the fans truly happy, he needs to find a delicate balance of maintaining those traditions while also updating the general music for a more modern feel.
Let's be real here. Thunderstruck by AC/DC is a classic. Overplayed in sports stadiums across the country, but a classic nonetheless. I certainly might be in the minority here, but that's one of the first songs I would change.
Another song that I am 100-percent positive that I am in the minority here is Mr. Brightside. I am very well-known amongst my peers for my consistency in rolling my eyes whenever that song is played; not just in Bryant-Denny Stadium, but anywhere.
And let's be real here, Turn Down for What is also over-utilized.
In 2019, BDS underwent extensive renovations that included the addition of LED lights in a ring around the rafters of the stadium. Now a fan-favorite feature of the stadium, the lights symbolized a moderate shift in game day culture. While there were some songs added to the music playlist in order to accommodate the lights, the lights to this day haven't been utilized to their full potential barring an awesome siren effect and the strobe effect when the Crimson Tide scores a touchdown.
Courtesy Alabama Athletics
What if the music was changed to take advantage of this underutilized feature?
As I stated earlier, the classics have got to stay. Like it or not, the donors of the school and season-ticket holders need to have their traditions maintained. However, the students of the school who bring the most energy in the stadium week-in and week-out also need to have their voices heard.
Byrne is taking the first steps to respond to student pleas, but the task is not as difficult as it sounds. To gauge crowd reactions in response to music, all he has to do is take a trip to the massive monolith of a basketball stadium that is located directly next to his office: Coleman Coliseum.
Coleman Coliseum is a prime example of a stadium that knows its audience and plays music to reflect as much. The music is less about appeasing to the older crowd and more so about getting the players and the students fired up. The result is one of the best atmospheres on campus.
The math is simple: make the students and the players happy, and the rest of the stadium will follow suit. During pre-game warmups at basketball, it's routine to see the players bobbing their heads and dancing around to songs like Sicko Mode. That energy is transferred to the students — by far the loudest section of the arena — and that energy is transitioned over to the rest of the stadium.
Softball and baseball also utilize this concept. If you've been to an Alabama softball game, I don't need to tell you what an electric atmosphere Rhoads Stadium can be.
So why can't Bryant-Denny?
For decades, BDS has been known as one of the best atmospheres in college football. However, in recent memory the stands simply don't show the same level of excitement. The student section is exempt from this point, as it always brings the fun.
On Wednesday, Nick Saban requested — for the second week in a row — that fans bring energy to the stadium. He's now done so every week since the Florida game in The Swamp, a game that gave him and his players issues due to the incredibly loud crowd noise. The Gator faithful clearly left an impression on the coach, and with good reason.
Coming back from seemingly every commercial break after the second half, the Florida players were jumping and dancing on the sidelines. Sure, the Gators ultimately lost, but the fans went nuts in response and helped generate one of the loudest football environments that this sportswriter has ever been to.
There is no excuse for why Bryant-Denny Stadium can't be the loudest stadium in the SEC. Alabama has a vast wealth of a tradition and its stadium atmosphere should reflect that.
Byrne is taking the first steps in converting the crowd atmosphere to reflect that, and music is a solid start. Should it be coordinated correctly, maybe the stadium could finally live up to the 'Club Denny' nickname that some fans began to call it after the LED lights were installed.
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Oh and a personal request to Byrne: Please change Wagon Wheel from the Darius Rucker version to the Old Crow Medicine Show version. Sure, Rucker's version might be the modern take, but OCMS' original edition would not only make the older fans happy but also remind the younger audience of the classic.
