The 30 Most Loyal Groups of Fans in College Football
By Zach Bigalke
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
Average Home Attendance 2006-2015: 97,794 (99.9% of capacity)
Average Season Winning Percentage: .811
Seasons Under 90% Capacity: 0
Seasons Over 100% Capacity: 6
A simple listen in to Paul Finebaum’s radio show will instantly reveal the depths of Alabama Crimson Tide fans’ loyalties to their program. Given that they are still celebrating the school’s fourth national championship in seven years, you might think there could be no end to the enthusiasm. And yet over the past four years Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa has failed to sell out every one of its home games. A lot of that falls down to the expectations that national championship seasons set, as fans have seemingly been disinterested in those game scheduled against FCS and Group of Five opponents.
The Crimson Tide regularly sell out their allotment of tickets to bowl games and flood the secondary markets turning postseason venues into homes away from home, and Alabama’s propensity for playing neutral-site openers has not impacted the strength of support that the Tide receive when they play in Arlington or Atlanta. The lack of a sellout streak at Bryant-Denny Stadium is the biggest knock keeping Bama down a few spots relative to the teams in front of them on this list.
But it bears acknowledging that the high level of success makes it both easier and harder to remain rabidly loyal to a front-runner like Alabama. The fact that the Tide have remained above 99 percent capacity over the past decade keeps their fans right in the thick of the top 10.
Next: 6. Ohio State