What does college football look like in a pandemic?
After a delayed start to the season, the Tennessee Volunteers played their first home game in Neyland Stadium since November 30, 2019.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the gameday experience has changed. On an average gameday, the university has a fan village with many souvenir booths, food, and games for all fans. Now the grounds remain hollowed. Social distancing efforts of at least six feet were enforced, with stickers all over the ground. These stickers could be found outside of every gate and occasionally along the sidewalks
The infamous Vol Walk still happened but without any fans. Made popular by former head coach Johnny Majors, players and coaches would walk together as a team from the Torchbearer statue all the way down to the front gates. They would be greeted by man screaming fans in a parade like atmosphere. Players and coaches kept the tradition alive of walking from the Torchbearer statue in Circle Park, down Peyton Manning Pass, and all the way down through Gate 21. Normally they would be greeted by many fans lined up and down the sidewalks to wish them well for their game, but instead players and coachers were greeted to nothing.
The stadium enforced limited seating along with a social distance maintained. Neyland Stadium holds a capacity of 102,455 seats. The limited seating is only 25% of that allowed: roughly 25,614 seats were allowed. Among those 25,000+ seats, only 2,700 were available for students. The normal crowd of various shades of orange and white now had gaps of bleachers in between.
When asking a student at the University of Tennessee, Trevor Adams believes, “It’s not fair. You’re limiting it down to all these donors and whatnots who can go just because they have money-comparatively to kids.”
University sponsored tailgating ceased operations for the 2020 season as the university decided to try and restrict in person groups across campus. They also strongly encouraged fans to tailgate from the comforts of their home rather than all together. Game day shuttles were not running, and the self-proclaimed Vol Navy had a limited capacity for a limited time of 24 hours.
Adams believes, “That is Tennessee football. That’s what it is around here. We’re not going to stop our traditions just because of this.”
Something else noticeable was the lack of the Pride of the Southland Band. While they still occupied their space in the stands, they were absent on the field. Another tradition for the team is running through a “T” made by the band as the players enter the field. Like many other traditions, the virus stopped this from happening. The Pride of the Southland Band did not form a “T,” nor did they have a live halftime performance.
Other important things to note; cash was not allowed for purchases at any concession stand and masks were required as soon as you entered through the gates of the stadium. Also, the university has set up many hand sanitizer stations throughout the facility
On the note of safety requirements and mandates, Adams says, “Masks are understandable, people will not social distance especially the kids, and the no cash is real dumb because sometimes that’s all people make.”
Football in the fall has arrived, but at what cost?
Sources:
Brandon Shown 