Tag: college football fans

Swinney can’t wait to see fans, stadiums full again

Is there any coach in college football more excited about fans returning to the game than Dabo Swinney? There answer is probably no. On Monday, Swinney was handing out Coke Floats and taking selfies with students on campus, as temperatures hit …

Is there any coach in college football more excited about fans returning to the game than Dabo Swinney?

There answer is probably no.

On Monday, Swinney was handing out Coke Floats and taking selfies with students on campus, as temperatures hit around 90 degrees in Clemson. Swinney was grinning from ear to ear in the August sun, but with the start of the 2021 season just 12 days away, he would not have had it any other way.

You can bet Swinney will be smiling on Sept. 4, when the third-ranked Tigers hit the field at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte to take on No. 5 Georgia in the Duke’s Mayo Classic. The game is expected to be a sellout, with more 75,000 fans in attendance.

Last year, the Tigers played six home games in front 18,000 at Death Valley and a couple of times—at Wake Forest and at Virginia Tech—in front of no fans at all. The ACC Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl barely had any fans in attendance, as well, due to the pandemic.

“I am super excited about (seeing) our fans,” Swinney said. “I think everybody that was a part of last year, will tell you that was the number one thing that we missed was the passion of the fans.”

Do not get Swinney wrong, his teams play with a lot of passion, but he also knows fans play a huge part in why college football is so popular. The tailgating, wearing their school’s team colors, the cheering, the barking, you name it, it all makes college football so unique and special to players, coaches and anyone who is a part of the game.

“We have a lot of passion to play the game, but the passion of fans is an awesome part of college football. So, we are definitely looking forward to that,” Swinney said.

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Notre Dame to Limit Attendance for 2020 Home Football Games

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick informed the masses Tuesday that home football games won’t feature full crowds in 2020.

Notre Dame spent a large chunk of their Tuesday raising money with “The Fight” which raised money for students whose families have been effected by Covid-19.

The stars of the Notre Dame community aligned with Brian Kelly, Pat Connaughton, Mike Brey and plenty of others speaking on a live stream but it was athletic director Jack Swarbrick who stole the headlines.

Swarbrick was asked about if there would be fans in the stands for Notre Dame football games this fall and the athletic director didn’t sell any false hope.

We’re committed to having fans in the stands and we’ll start with the other students. My view throughout has been, if we think it’s safe for students to be on the field playing football, it should be safe for the students to be in the stands watching football. So, we’ll build off that base of the other students, faculty and staff will be a priority for us to give them an opportunity, and then our fans. We haven’t yet gotten to the question of how big that audience is. We won’t be at capacity. We’ll do something less than that. And we’ll be very careful about maintaining social distance, how the facility works, how you enter it, how you exit it, all things to be determined. We’re working hard on them.” 

-Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick on “The Fight”

Swarbrick didn’t give an answer on how many fans will be in Notre Dame Stadium this fall but it certainly won’t be the 80,795 capacity crowd that the Irish usually play in front of.

If you’ve been to Notre Dame Stadium you’re well aware how they pack you in like sardines.  Your seat on the wooden benches are wide enough for perhaps a nine year old to sit comfortably, but not anyone much older than that.

Now factor in social distancing and trying to maintain six feet of separation then that we’ve been told to keep apart and you’re looking at what, a maximum of a one-third capacity crowd?

It’s not surprising but it doesn’t mean it won’t look strange when Notre Dame Stadium is at roughly 30% capacity or whatever that number ends up being.