Regular or Extra-Crispy?
After several years of work they finally finished the renovations to Bryant Denny Stadium. It was finished just in time for the first game of the season and hosted the largest crowd to ever see a football game in the state. The stadium looked radically different than it did when I first saw it in 1977. Of course, at that time, the maximum capacity was only 60,000. Now the total reaches 92, 138.
The capacity jumped from 83,818 before the expansion, and you could certainly tell the difference in the number of people in and out of the stadium. Before the first game, the planning people anticipated an extra 10,000 cars in and around the campus for each game. I don't know how they get those numbers, but after attending the first 3 games of this season, I can tell a big difference in the cars looking for parking before the games and the crowd of people wandering around the Quad and walking over to the stadium before the games start.
Now I've already been in the new upper deck section for one game, and the top row is actually higher than the highest seats on either the west stands or the east stands. My seats for that game weren't on the top row, but they were no more than ten rows below it. You can see from this pre-game photo that you have a view all the way down to 12th Street from the new upper section. I didn't walk up to the top and snap a photo of the view back toward campus. If you get a chance to go to a game and sit in the new section, be warned...the steps are steep and by the time you walk up the outer steps to get to the upper deck, its alot higher up depending on the row your tickets are designated. Unlike the East and West stands, I didn't see a ramp to walk up to the upper section, just several flights of stairs.
Of course, if you are fortunate enough to get tickets in "The Zone" section, you get the air- conditioned indoor seating and refreshments for when you are tired of sitting outside in your seats. But those are only available for Tide Pride contributors or those who purchase them for a premium price from the holder. I'm not sure how much more expensive they would be from a scalper.
Overall, you can tell the difference in the increased number of fans in the stadium as well. The noise level is higher as a result of more people and the renovated section that encloses the upper end zone seats. I would think that it could be much more difficult for opposing players to hear signals when the crowd reaches a frenzy. The addition of 2 new video boards and the two ribbons boards on each side really add to the overall appearance.
The fans seem to really enjoy the atmosphere and despite some lackluster opponents for the first three games of the season, all the games were sold out. The first game was a really hard sell-out, without any tickets floating around from scalpers outside the stadium. You could buy tickets for the next two games, but since the Vandy game started at 2:00 and was on TV there were plenty of scalpers offering the tickets for sale.
If you haven't had a chance to visit, you should drop by for one of the upcoming games.
There we were, heading out for what we hoped would be the last really hot-weather round of golf for the summer. With Steve back in town from Maine, it seemed like a good idea to head over to Opelika to play the Lake course at the RTJ Grand National facility. No matter that the high was forecast to be in the mid 90's or that the humidity was stifling. It was a typical late summer day. Just what we've learned to expect around here.
Luckily we got on the road without anyone forgetting the departure time, or their billfold or golf shoes. Traffic was no problem and we arrived and got out on the course almost on our scheduled tee time. The course was in really good shape, especially surprising given the paucity of precipitation this summer.
Our swings were rusty, as you should expect, since there haven't been too many chances to get out and play this summer. At least the two of us that are still local were acclimated to the high temperatures, but our friend from the far north did very well considering he was broiling before we even made the turn. 
In fact, he got so hot, he drained all the color out of this photo.
Sometimes the camera settings get slightly askew and you end up with classic black & white images suitable for framing! Here Steve contemplates which wedge might reach the green from 200+ yards out at #9. Quite a challenge with the uphill green to contend with as well.
The RTJ courses are always good about providing cart service on hot weekend days. This is a very wise move on their part, since the courses would be littered with the bodies of fallen heat-stroke victims otherwise. We also enjoyed the fans installed on the edges of the bent-grass greens, but they would have felt much better with air conditioners attached.
The Lake course has some history associated with our group. Years ago, we had a regular foursome that would get out every weekend. We were hackers then, just as we are now, but with a group of four regular hackers, we didn't seem out-0f-place, and there was no chance of being inadvertantly paired with a single golfer who really knew how to play. But after a number of years, our little foursome lost one. It happened on this particular course, on a fiendish par-3.
There's really nothing evil about the par-3 15th, but it may be the most difficult of the entire trail for our group. The scorecard lists it as a simple 160 yard shot to a narrow peninsula green jutting out into the lake below the clubhouse. The RTJ guide lists this particular hole as possibly the "single prettiest on the Trail." While I don't agree with that assessment, it is clearly a challenge for golfers of our calibre.
But, back to the tragedy. . . We were almost finished with our round, and our ill-fated friend was not having his best day. We pulled up to the tee box, got out with our weapons of destruction and each dropped at least one ball into the lake with our tee shots. Our friend put 2 or 3 in the water, again this was not unusual for our group since we all think we can hit that shot with just 'one more try.' We pulled around to the drop area and he put another one in the water. The next thing we saw was his golf club head flying in one direction and the shaft in the other. He got in his cart and said "I'm through." He went straight back to the clubhouse, got in his car and left. That was it... no more golf. Even today, years later, he doesn't even own any clubs. Sold every last one.
But this week on the "___ Memorial Par 3" the three of us kept each other from coming unglued and local Steve even hit one across the water to just off the green. No melt-downs=success! From there it was all downhill, as we were nearing dehydration, for the round. We finished and survived.
So when does the cool weather get here? December?
