Crimson Corner: Should Vaccines Be Required for a Full-Capacity Bryant-Denny Stadium?

Before we open this can of worms, let me get something out of the way first:

Obviously we all want full-capacity stadiums across the landscape of college football in 2021. Whether you're an adamant vaccine supporter or strongly against it, the vast majority of people would like to see stadiums across the SEC and the NCAA stuffed to the gills with rowdy fans.

Now, how that undertaking is accomplished is where the division falls.

In 2020 and so far in 2021, stadiums across both college and professional sports had to make do with limited capacity. Bryant-Denny Stadium was limited to roughly 20-percent capacity. On top of that, there was no Million Dollar Band present, no Walk of Champions and absolutely no tailgating allowed on university grounds.

Fans were required to wear a mask at all times unless eating or drinking, and seats were assigned with social distancing in mind.

In professional sports, the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL all hosted the vast majority of games without fans or limited to just friends and family of the coaches and players.

Regardless of the opinion on the vaccine and COVID-19, sports fans across the nation all miss seeing their beloved teams' stadiums packed.

In 2021, we have slowly but surely began to see more fans allowed back into stadiums. Bryant-Denny Stadium saw an increase to 50-percent capacity for its annual A-Day Game, a scrimmage game that was canceled due to the coronavirus last spring.

Baseball stadium capacities have increased as well, with multiple stadiums across the SEC increasing their fans limits including Sewell-Thomas Stadium at Alabama and Baum-Walker Stadium at Arkansas. LSU's Alex Box Stadium is now back to full capacity.

In the SEC realm of things so far, all increases in fan capacities have been accompanied with a continued recommendation that fans wear their masks. However, full capacities do not require vaccination.

The same can not be said for sports at the professional level, though.

In the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets require either proof of vaccination or a required COVID-19 test either shortly before or upon arrival at the stadium. The Atlanta Hawks have announced a plan to have a section in their stadium dedicated to fans that have been vaccinated where no social distancing is required.

In the NFL, the Buffalo Bills have discussed the option of having a full-capacity Highmark Stadium in 2021, but will only allow fans inside that are fully vaccinated.

All of that brings us to the nexus question regarding Alabama football: should Crimson Tide fans be required to become vaccinated in order to attend games at Bryant-Denny Stadium later this season?

As of right now, both Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne and university president Dr. Stuart R. Bell have discussed their intentions of having the stadium at full capacity this fall. While increasing capacity for baseball games is progress, the size of the crowd at The Joe is merely a small portion when compared to the stadium capacity at Bryant-Denny.

When discussing the issue with Alabama fans, I spoke with people from both sides of the vaccine camp. In fact, I spoke with just as many people that had already gotten the vaccine as I did with those that hadn't.

The results from my research was surprising: 100 percent of the Crimson Tide faithful that I spoke to, regardless of their position on the vaccine, were against the university requiring fans to be vaccinated for entry.

One fan brought up an important proposition. In his suggestion, he said that Bryant-Denny Stadium should be at full capacity, and that those that had gotten the vaccine should not be required to wear masks or social distance themselves, while those that did not have the vaccine would also be allowed entry but would have to agree to a waiver removing the university from fault. Additionally, those fans would be required to wear masks and socially distance.

While in a perfect world that system could work, we unfortunately do not live in such a scenario. Simply removing the blame from Alabama would not prevent the potential for an outbreak. Another factor would be the logistics of the situation: monitoring fans that had and had not been vaccinated to enforce mask policies and social distancing would be an impossible task for stadium security once the fans had entered the venue.

When weighing the pros and cons of the situation, there are positives and negatives to each side. On the pro-vaccine side of things, requiring vaccines would dramatically reduce the spread. In addition, fans would not be required to socially distance and could attend games mask-free — certainly something that we all would like to see.

Another positive that would likely result from required vaccinations would be an increase in vaccination numbers in the state. One fan brought up the point that while he himself had not been vaccinated, he would highly consider it should the vaccine become a requirement for entry.

The cons of requiring the vaccine begin and end with blocking fans that want to go to games. Even season-ticket holders would be required, which makes me thankful that I'm not the poor soul that would have to send that email out to inform them of the requirement.

On the opposite side of the aisle, there are pros and cons to not making the vaccine required. First and foremost is the fact that any and all fans that wish to attend would be allowed entry (except for those with a positive COVID-19 test like last season). This would no doubt increase the fervor of the stadium and would go a long way to returning the stadium back to the look and sound of normalcy.

The obvious con is that of public health. With Bryant-Denny Stadium at maximum capacity, the issue of societal health remains a great concern even now. While the University of Alabama certainly wouldn't be liable if someone were to fall ill or to possibly pass away from COVID-19 that was contracted by a fan that attended a game, no one can deny that it would be bad optics for the program on top of a terrible tragedy.

If you're like me — which you most likely are — you had to make sacrifices over the last 14 months due to COVID-19. In 2021, you certainly would like things to return back to normal. While patience is a virtue, it becomes a more and more difficult virtue to maintain in stride.

Like it or not, Alabama Athletics has a decision to make for the upcoming season. In this writer's opinion, with the state of Alabama's COVID-19 regulations decreasing and the vaccine becoming more and more readily available by the day, the vaccine should not be a requirement for attendance. However, it should be strongly encouraged.

Alabama Athletics is already making preparations for that encouragement. It was reported last week that Nick Saban recorded a PSA encouraging fans to get vaccinated because "We want Bryant-Denny Stadium loud again this coming season."

In an interview with ESPN's Heather Dinich, Byrne revealed that he would be surprised if the vaccine was required for entry this fall.

It seems that the university is leaning the way of the people. While it will most likely result in some fans contracting the virus, COVID-19 is something that society will have to live with for years to come. With more Alabamians being vaccinated every day, why can't this fall be the official start of the new normal?

Despite believing that the vaccine should not be a requirement, I am still a firm believer that the masses get vaccinated. Unfortunately, today's political climate has made the vaccine a political issue rather than a health and safety one. If everyone were to put aside politics for a brief moment, I believe that far more people would be in line for vaccinations.

When considering vaccination, don't just consider your personal health. While that does remain a factor, you must also consider the health of others. While you could still carry traces of the virus on you even after being vaccinated, the risk of you personally contracting the virus dramatically increases the odds that you could pass it on to your loved ones.

That's why I myself am getting my second dose on Wednesday.

That long-awaited return to normalcy is something that I have been yearning for what seems like ages. If you're like me, I know you are, too.