All You Need to Know: Alabama Gameday (Part 2 of 2)

In Part 1 I covered what goes on in Tuscaloosa before a game actually starts. In this post I'm going to cover what you should expect from the game itself as well as what goes on after the game.

101,000. Roll Tide.

During the Game

• Let me say a quick word about getting into the game. As I mentioned in my previous post, the student gate will open 2.5 hours before kickoff. You will have to have your Action Card to get into the game...if you've lost yours or just don't have it with you for some reason, you can get a temporary Action Card at the Student Services building across from the Ferg. This has been a lifesaver for me on a couple of occasions.
• No outside food or drinks are allowed inside the stadium...technically.
• The student section will fill up pretty quickly after the gate opens. This means that more than 10,000 students have about two hours to kill without much to do. Many student will watch intently as the kicker warms up play cards, chat, and compulsively check their phones. There will be highlight videos playing on the jumbotrons which do help to pass the time.
• The real fun begins about an hour before kickoff. The band will take their seats and start working the crowd, the team will come out to warm up, and the non-student ticket holders will begin to fill up the stadium.
• With about 45 minutes left before kickoff, my favorite video in the world will play on the big screens. The crowd always gets into this one....

• Once the game actually starts, yell like crazy and enjoy yourself. There is nothing quite like the quasi-religious experience that is Alabama football, and attempting to describe the game itself here would be a pointless exercise.

After the Game

• My first bit of advice to you is this...please be responsible with whatever post-game activity you choose. I realize that there are many opportunities in Tuscaloosa for trouble after a game...be smart, stay with friends, and don't do anything that would reflect negatively on the University.
• If we win...enjoy it! Tuscaloosa becomes a very happy place when the Tide are doing well. After the game, there will still be plenty of folks on the Quad playing music, cheering, and generally enjoying the victory.
• Pretty much any restaurant within a 20-mile radius of the stadium will be packed after the game. The roads in town will be the same way. My usual routine is to hang out with some friends on the Quad for a couple of hours and then head somewhere to eat after the crowds have died down a bit. The game this week is a night game, though, so it may be too late after the game for that to be an option.

Hopefully some of this information will be useful to you as you get ready for your first Alabama gameday experience as a student. I should also mention the Alabama Gameday website, which has a ton of useful information for any fan. Y'ALL FOOTBALL STARTS IN TWO DAYS.