🏈 What's it like playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium? We asked 7 SEC players to share their...

[BAMANEWSBOT]

"I don't have really good memories of playing there. Last time I played there my sophomore year, things didn't go well at all."

The question is simple enough. It's not loaded or attempting to reach one desired outcome.

What's it like playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium?

We posed this question to seven players at SEC Media Days earlier this month in Hoover to get a feel for what it's like wearing white in Tuscaloosa. None of the seven had won a game in Bryant-Denny Stadium as Texas A&M's Germain Ifediwas a redshirting when the Aggies upset Alabama in 2012 ― the last home loss for the Tide.

Since that Nov. 10, 2012 loss, the Crimson Tide's won 16 straight home games by an average score of 44-9. That includes seven shutouts, three of teams from the SEC.

Here's what they had to say:

"It's the best experience I've had. Having that whole crowd (saying) 'Roll Tide Roll' when their song comes on, then when they have a big play, how loud they get. It's a fun atmosphere and I really enjoy going there."

Mike Hilton, Ole Miss senior DB (lost 25-0 at Alabama in 2013)

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"It was crazy game day, way crazier (in 2014) than the first time I went there (in 2012). It's one of the big-time games you see on the TV. It was our first time playing a game of that magnitude so it was crazy. The fans were real loud and the stadium was real wild. And in an atmosphere like that, you have to be able to react. It was real crazy."

Taveze Calhoun, Mississippi State senior DB (lost 38-7 at Alabama in 2012 and 25-20 in 2014)

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"They had so much energy in the stadium. They packed it out. Their players were ecstatic. I'm not saying that our team wasn't ecstatic or weren't ready to play, but it just seemed like Alabama had everything in their favor that day. Every ball bounced their way. It was just one of those days that you really want to forget."

Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M junior offensive lineman (lost 59-0 at Alabama in 2014)

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"It was intense, good atmosphere. It was a good game. Their fans are really straight football, football, football so it was a good spot to play. I'm glad I got to play there at least once."

Jonathan Bullard, Florida sophomore defensive end (lost 42-21 at Alabama in 2014)

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"I don't have really good memories of playing there. Last time I played there my sophomore year, things didn't go well at all. I expect a different outcome this season but you never know."

Keon Hatcher, Arkansas senior wide receiver (lost 52-0 at Alabama in 2013)

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"Oh, it's loud. It's one of the biggest stadiums I've seen. But, like I said before, it's kinda like every other SEC stadium in the fact that night games are even more intense. Alabama-LSU is a pretty strong rivalry so you get a lot of aggressive fans. So it's very interesting."

Valal Alexander, LSU senior offensive lineman (lost 38-17 at Alabama in 2013)

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"It's crazy. That stadium is crazy. It's loud. It was a great experience for me."

Brandon Powell, Florida sophomore running back (lost 42-14 at Alabama in 2014)

Continue reading...

 

[Mr. Pink]

I was at the damn game and still forgot we raped aTm 59-0 hahaha

 

[It Takes Eleven]

I was at the damn game and still forgot we raped aTm 59-0 hahaha

That and the aubrun 49-nil games were the best examples of a no mas opponent.

 

[sean]

i was at the lsu game in 2013. it was so freakin' loud when we sacked Mettenburger 4 straight times i honestly thought i was going to have permanent hearing damage.

and would have gladly lived with it.

i was also hoarse for a few days afterward due to singing RAMMER JAMMER so many times and so loud!

which i also loved.



as far as being outside the stadium and hearing the crowd, that would be the tennessee game in 2009; when Cody blocked the second kick at the end of the game.

i was on the quad (didn't have tickets but we were tailgating and watching it on tv) for that game. i can still remember, and hear very vividly, how loud the crowd screamed when he blocked that kick. it was about 2 seconds before the block on tv so i knew before-hand, as did everyone else on the quad. and when i say we were on the quad, we were next to the library; so it was across the quad and not out there by the street.

we heard the crowd roar, then it happened on tv, and then the entire quad erupted into the most insane level of noise i have ever heard in my life. and that includes seeing a deck launch from the USS Lexington when i was in the Boy Scouts...way back when.

 

[Bammerboy321]

BDS was intense last year. A lot more fun than it ever was honestly. Crowd is more lively, the 3rd down song was the shit, and the noise was deafening. Wish I could relive that Miss State game again. That was funnest I've ever had.

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

My seats in '09 were in the North end zone. I've personally never heard any stadium louder than when Cody blocked Lincoln's kick. I couldn't talk above a whisper for 2 days from screaming. The gentleman to my left weighed a good 300 lbs and I picked him up and shook him like a rag doll. Much of my screaming was directed at the 10rc band which was seated in the next section to our left. I may have used profanity.

 

[Alabiker]

As fans, we get lazy and complacent. But when its third down against a rival, you can't hear the person beside you. And yeah, the crowd likes it when the other team gets a procedure call or has to burn a time out.

 

[Barnabus Stinson]

I'll leave my opinion here and it may piss off some folks here, but outside of the students, our crowd makes pathetically little noise most of the time. I've been to opposing stadiums and sat in the non-student section that were much louder than BDS. We've got a significantly overrated atmosphere in the stadium. I love game day but it's just not near as much noise outside the student section that everybody acts like there is. I got an old boss's seats for a game a few years back. They were on the 45 about halfway up behind the Bama bench. No one was cheering at all. I started cheering and was asked to stop by some of the people there. I was no using profanity either. I was just disturbing their regular game experience.

We should have one of the loudest stadiums in the country, but I honestly don't think it's that loud even for the conference.

 

[Mr. Pink]

Our band needs to step it up a few notches.

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

I'll leave my opinion here and it may piss off some folks here, but outside of the students, our crowd makes pathetically little noise most of the time. I've been to opposing stadiums and sat in the non-student section that were much louder than BDS. We've got a significantly overrated atmosphere in the stadium. I love game day but it's just not near as much noise outside the student section that everybody acts like there is. I got an old boss's seats for a game a few years back. They were on the 45 about halfway up behind the Bama bench. No one was cheering at all. I started cheering and was asked to stop by some of the people there. I was no using profanity either. I was just disturbing their regular game experience.

We should have one of the loudest stadiums in the country, but I honestly don't think it's that loud even for the conference.

Between the 40's behind the Bama bench lower bowl is "old guard" "blue hair" territory. The ends zones and upper deck put them to shame for game time enthusiasm. No offense if you sit there and make noise but I have also been shushed in that section.

 

[Bammerboy321]

Yeah we have a few blue hairs, but it also depends on what game you're there for. I remember being there for the Vandy game back in '11 and Alabama was up by a comfortable margin, yet the crowd was in it and lively. Then I went to the Arkansas game where we blew them out 52-0 and it was like I was the only person there making any kind of noise. I think the atmosphere at BDS has improved tremendously over the last few years. Anyone who went to the IB, A&M, and Miss State games last year can vouch for this. LSU in '13 too.

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

I definitely agree it has gotten better over the last 2-3 years.

 

[bamachine]

Yeah, we are just a bit louder up in the nosebleeds. The only way you would be there and have seats up there is if you were there to scream and party with strangers. I have hugged many a stranger on last minute wins, see Arky '07(Caddell's catch) and Viles '09(Cody block), those are my two most memorable ones. We have had someone, who wasn't a regular, complain about us standing and got the cops up there to ask us to sit down, our whole section told the cops to kiss our asses and if those people didn't like the view, they could watch it from a bar or from home. The cops and the puss fans both left, not our entire section. We have some Blue Hairs in our section but they are rowdy just like us.