Two’s company, three’s a crowd. Last season’s football games seemed to be playing in front of company, not crowds. COVID-19 protocols were devastating to athletics department budgets, but the lack of large crowds also changed the dynamic of 2020 games.
This year, the plan is to have full-capacity crowds at Alabama football games in Bryant-Denny Stadium. And when the Crimson Tide opens the season in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium Saturday, there also will be a crowd.
The return of large numbers of fans will restore the atmosphere to college football.
But there’s also another effect. Crowd noise can become an extra defender for the home team, disrupting communications. Some players say that doesn’t bother them, but that’s at least in part because of preparation.
Following Bama’s Wednesday practice, Coach Nick Saban said, “I think anytime you’re playing when you’re a player, crowd noise does make a difference in the game. We didn’t have to deal with a lot a year ago, so a lot of the players who played last year will have to get re-acclimated to that.”
Although Atlanta will be a neutral site, Alabama practice includes use of non-verbal communications.
“Being able to communicate with hand signals and not as much relying on verbal communication is always very important,” Saban said. “We spent today practicing that way with noise. We’ll spend [Thursday] practicing that way with noise.
“I think there is some adjustment that players have to make. It’s something they have to get used to and we try to do that by simulating in practice as much as we can.”
All those fans are anxious for the return of football. Alabama and Miami will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 central time) Saturday with ABC televising.
Probably more than spectators, though, the players who have been through weeks of fall camp and this week, game preparations are ready.
“We’re obviously looking forward to the first game,” Saban said. “I’m sure the players are very much excited about having a game to play, trying to create an identity as a team, create value for themselves individually for how they complete, how they play.”
Inasmuch as it is a first game, Saban sounded the warning of “You’ve got to be able to play the next play. Sometimes unexpected things happen in first games, things that you weren’t prepared for. I think it’s really important that everybody can keep the right mind-set.
“I also think that from this time on, mental focus, mental practice, mental preparation, is really a big part of eliminating errors in a game. We can’t practice that much more on the field, but we can practice a lot mentally and I think that can have a huge impact on how we can play and how we get off to what we hope is a very good start against a very good Miami team.”
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September 02, 2021 at 07:35AM
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Crowd Noise Simulated At Alabama Practice - 247Sports
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