© Gary Cosby Jr./Imagn
Spring football games used to be the highlight of the season for college football fans across the country. It was the first opportunity for many to see the star recruit they’d read about or the young quarterback set to take over after sitting the bench behind the previous starter. But the transfer portal and poaching led many programs to cancel their spring game or, at very least, significantly alter the format.
One of those programs was the Alabama Crimson Tide, whose A-Day Spring Game was always one of the most well-attended in the country. This time around, second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer decided to change from a spring game to an open practice format, and the difference in crowd size was startling.
In 2024, 2,358 fans packed into Bryant-Denny Stadium to watch the the White team (offense) beat the Crimson team (defense) 34-28 in DeBoer’s first “game” as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. This year, Alabama didn’t even announce an attendance but pictures and videos from the event showed a crowd that looked like less than half of that from a year ago.
Alabama Fans Express Disappointment At Cancellation Of A-Day Spring Game
“We’ll have more of a practice, a full practice like we would have any day,” DeBoer said of the format change in March. “It allows us to kind of have a controlled setting, control the reps that certain guys get. We understand the significance. Everyone loves football here. We want to give that day and make it available, show off our guys, go do their thing.”
It also marked the first time since 2006 that Alabama’s A-Day was not broadcast on live television.
“I’d say we’re somewhat disappointed, because it’s not the same atmosphere, and just being able to get that full experience is what I like,” Alabama fan Dustin Evans said of the practice after driving up from Tallahassee, Florida just to watch.
Look, I get it. The new landscape of college sports means you need to be more protective of players than every before. But at a time when fans are being asked to pay more for tickets and fund NIL collectives, it feels like they’re getting less access than ever before. At some point, the rubber if going to meet the road for college football, and it won’t be pretty when it does.