Prior to the game, I took the time to walk around campus to take in all the sights and sounds prior to the season opener against Old Dominion. Here’s a few takeaways:

  • The stadium is absolutely gorgeous. It hits you immediately as you come up University Boulevard or get off 460. The new expansion coupled with the Indoor Practice Facility definitely gives the stadium a big time feel when you arrive on campus.
  • Prior to the weather delay, there was a ton of buzz around campus as I walked around. A large student tailgate behind DeMoss, tailgating up and down University Boulevard, just a lot of activity. I also saw numerous ODU fans milling around outside the stadium. Much more than any other visiting fans that have visited Williams Stadium recently. Overall, there was just a big game feel walking around campus.
  • The stadium. Wow. If you haven’t been on campus or weren’t at the game, you need to get here. The 2nd deck on the student side is gorgeous as is the concourse underneath. And the new colonnade on the south end gives it a terrific touch.
  • That new video board. Speechless. It is blinding. If the lights were turned off the video board would give off sufficient light to play a football game. One complaint, more replays! Too many fan shots, the best way to get the fans more involved in the play on the field is show more replays.
  • The new, full length ribbon board on the student side is another nice touch. It’s incredibly bright. A few times when I was looking down at my computer and the ribbon board switched to a white display, I thought it was a flash of lightning. One complaint on the ribbon board, there was never any out of town scores shown. Only thing shown was game score, advertisements, and hype up graphics.
  • Adding to the hype, the team got brand new red unis and white helmets. The helmets feature a red eagle wrapping around the back. The white helmet, red jersey, and red pants were a first time combination for the Flames.
  • Attendance topped out just over 20,000. Definitely not bad, but not quite the record crowd many were hoping for. Of course, with the weather and delay, some of the walk-up crowd probably left or didn’t come. The student section was impressive from the beginning of the game through the end. Visiting section was fairly full, but not overflowing. West side bleacher seats, particularly in the upper deck, was really light. The non-students need some help. Hopefully, we will get there with time.
  • All in all, a solid B+ for the game day atmosphere. If we were still FCS it would have been an off the charts A+, but we’re FBS now, so a tougher grading scale. Still, terrific atmosphere, and plenty to build on.
  • What were your thoughts on the game day atmosphere?