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WALLY HALL: Crimson Tide can't crack top 10 in this list

Maybe it is the time of year, or just that it's Alabama.

It is big news right now that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey suggested the Crimson Tide take a pass on hiring Hugh Freeze. The commish also recommended four or five other schools not hire the former Ole Miss coach, but Alabama got the headlines.

Tua Tagovailoa, hero of the national championship game, injured his hand on the first day of spring practice and had surgery. Because it was Alabama he was in the headlines when spring practice ended.

Alabama has certainly carved its place on the Mount Rushmore of college football, so it came as a bit of a surprise when the Crimson Tide's football stadium was left off Campussports.net's top 10.

Under Nick Saban, Alabama football has exploded. The stadium seems to be continuously enlarging and still outgrowing the demand for tickets. Success breeds success.

Yet, in the subjective top 10 -- and again, it is the time of year when a lot of sports reporters start doing top 10 stories -- Bryant-Denny Stadium with its 101,821 seats, seventh largest in the country, was no where to be found. Neither was Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the Cotton Bowl or Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

That said, the list was pretty solid. Of the 10, seven had attendance records north of 100,000. There are three from the Big 10, one each from the ACC and Pac-12, an independent and four from the SEC.

Of the list your trusty scribe has covered games in six, visited two and cares very little about the other two.

No. 10 was Clemson. A game was covered there when Ken Hatfield was the head coach, and it is a sight to behold when all the RVs are parked row after row. Several years ago the school put in RV parking that included water hook-ups. Clemson is a very wealthy school in a very small town. The population is less than 14,000 not including students, but on game day more than 100,000 are in town.

No. 9, Tennessee, and Rocky Top U could have been higher on this list. Great game atmosphere especially the Vol Navy who tailgate on boats in the Tennessee River.

No. 8, Texas A&M. From the time that marching band enters Kyle Field no one sits and when they start swaying it feels like the stadium is crumbling in front of your eyes. Shelby Metcalf once said, "If we do something three times at A&M, it is a tradition." Lots of pride among those fans.

No. 7, Georgia. It has a great atmosphere and people are incredibly friendly. The stadium was dug out of a hill making for steep walks, but that bowl also keeps sound in.

No. 6, Rose Bowl. Covered Texas' win over Southern Cal in 2006. Beautiful stadium with terrible traffic problems.

No. 5, Ohio State, the famed horseshoe. Saw it once when covering a basketball game back in the 1980's. That was plenty.

No. 4, Notre Dame, once presented an award there and plan to be there when the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, goes there in 2020. Smallest capacity in this top 10 with 80,795 but it has Touchdown Jesus.

No. 3, Michigan. Ducked out of a game with the Razorbacks.

No. 2, Penn State. Big place.

No. 1, LSU, and it is really hard to debate. The Tigers Nation comes early and stays late. They mostly imbibe from the time they wake up until they pass out after the game. It is a beautiful campus with an electrifying football atmosphere.

If LSU is No. 1 then Alabama should probably be No. 2. Both have home crowds that somehow manage to create an atmosphere of hostility, hospitality and hominess. Neither is a joy for a sportswriter to visit.

Sports on 04/18/2018

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