The Oddity of Small or No Crowds Won't Impact Vanderbilt
Now that opening weekend 2020 is in the books; there are several takeaways from the new regulations that are governing the sport in this upside-down world we're living in at present.
One of those takeaways is just how different the setting for each game could be depending on what state it is being played in, and what the local restrictions from those states and cities might mean for visiting teams.
On Monday night, BYU and Navy got together in Annapolis, Maryland. They played a dud of a contest where the visiting Cougars pounded the Midshipmen 55-3 before an empty Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Other games played over the weekend included limited fans in Texas, Tennessee, and New York, but all had more than Navy for their season opener.
What exactly will Vanderbilt Stadium look like when the Commodores open their home schedule is anyone's guess at present.
Current restrictions in Metro Nashville are tight, and if the game were played today, it would be an empty stadium. No one knows with certainty what it might look like in a few weeks, not even the mayor who seems to be drawing his inspirations for reopening his city from a dartboard.
It might seem redundant since this has been written before, but an empty stadium isn't all bad for Vanderbilt. Home attendance is not excellent, and when teams like LSU and Tennessee come calling, they take over the stadium with purple or orange, and it becomes a defacto home game from there.
A limited number of fans or none at all would prevent Vanderbilt Stadium from becoming the home of insert opponent name here.
On the road, the potentially limited number of fans in a place like College Station can only serve to help the Commodores young quarterback and offensive players be able to communicate more efficiently than it might in front of a full house or 12th Men and women.
It's crazy even to be writing this again, but the reality is that this is what we are now about to witness, and it's not all bad if you're a Vanderbilt fan.
Who could have forecasted that terrible attendance would be a blessing at some point?
Only in the wacky world of 2020 would this ever be possible.
A 29 year veteran of radio in the Middle Tennessee area and 16 years in digital and internet media having covered the Tennessee Titans for Scout Media and TitanInsider.com before joining the Sports Illustrated family of networks.