Greg Byrne Scratches Two Songs From the Bryant-Denny Stadium Playlist
The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide football team is riding high coming off a big home win over the No. 12 Ole Miss Rebels Saturday, when Alabama dominated Ole Miss 42-21. During the buildup to the crucial home matchup, Alabama head coach Nick Saban repeatedly pleaded to the Alabama fan base to come to the stadium ready to cheer fervently for the Tide for the whole game.
The Crimson Tide fan base responded in a major way on Saturday but ahead of the game a major focus was the in-stadium experience in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Social media buzz and chatter identified tired and outdated music as one reason why the energy may be lacking at 920 Bryant Drive.
Alabama's Athletic Director Greg Byrne, ever a man of the people, took notice of the discussion and decided to take action. Byrne's first step was to listen to the playlist himself and axe songs that clearly don't belong.
The first song to get scratched, "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5.
"We're not going to play that one again and we're not going to play the Applebee's song, we figured those two things out," said Byrne at last week's Tuscaloosa Chamber of Commerce Luncheon.
"Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes, otherwise known as the Applebee's song, was also first up on Byrne's burn list. He and his staff held a meeting on Friday to go over the playlist and ensure the list keeps the Gumps going for all four quarters.
"As soon as we play something different we're going to hear, 'That's terrible, I don't like that song,' so you do the very best you can," said Byrne.
Alabama's next home game will be against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, Oct. 23, giving Byrne and his staff nearly three weeks to tinker and toy with the music to optimize the in-stadium experience.