Does Size Really Matter?

Over 92,000 fans showed up for the first Nick Saban-era spring game at Alabama yesterday. And if there's any question about Saban's desire to live up to the Bear's legacy -- at least sartorially -- check out the picture, showing Saban in a coat and tie for the game! The White team beat the Crimson, 20-13, but I won't make any jokes about how good it is to be white in Alabama. What I will joke about is how the fun-'n'-gun Tide has maintained its high-scoring ways even after the departure of Mike Shula. And, it's funny that more people showed up for this scrimmage than the actual game against Duke last season. But then again, fans yesterday were pretty much guaranteed an Alabama victory; against Duke, the outcome was in serious doubt.

I predict that this amazing turnout will spur a spring-game version of "Mine's bigger than yours" from the usual suspects, namely Michigan and Tennessee. (Although Penn State is right up there in capacity, they've never seemed to be as obsessed with size as the Wolverines and Vols.) I'd imagine a lot of Tennessee fans spit out their Sunday morning coffee chaw when they saw that Alabama had set any kind of attendance record. In case you're curious, Tennessee drew just over 17,000 to its spring game. Aw. Maybe the Tennessee fans were in the pool.