NEW ORLEANS – The city of New Orleans was quiet, the Mercedez-Benz Superdome was not filled, and the pandemic required everybody to be masked up and socially distant. Though only 3,000 fans were able to attend, whether you watched the game at home, or listened to the radio, you can experience the sights and sounds from Ohio State’s amazing 49-28 college football playoff win against Clemson below. It was very much unlike a traditional college football playoff semifinal game.
Pre-Game
I arrived at the stadium at 4 p.m. CT on a media shuttle and went through security and multiple screenings. Blue dots marked the floor requiring everybody to remain six feet apart. The concessions were just being set up, and stadium security were just finishing finding their spots in their respective sections, the stadium was quiet, and the field was empty.
It wasn’t until 5 p.m. that music came on and team managers for both Clemson and Ohio State took the field.
At 5:08 p.m., Clemson players came out of the tunnel in their dress clothes and walked across the field to their locker room. Ohio State came out and walked across the field at 5:21 PM. Fans had began entering and there were consistent cheers as Ohio State walked across the field.
A handful of Clemson players were out on the field stretching and running around. As the clock neared 5:30, a lot of Clemson players were warming up on its side of the field and a few Ohio State players began coming out. As a number of Ohio State players ran out to warm up, there was a lot of noise coming from the Ohio State side of the stadium.
Every time an Ohio State position group ran out onto the field to warm up, the Ohio State fans cheered. Clemson fans were quiet.
The corridors of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome were empty and dark. There were very few people walking around. In a stadium with a capacity of over 74,000, the 3,000 fans and parents in attendance hardly took up any space.
There were numerous announcements to mask up and stay two yards apart, or maintain six feet of distance.
With 99 minutes to kickoff, a countdown clock began in the stadium.
At 6:00 p.m. the stadium announcer officially welcomed the fans.
Ohio State was running through position warmups and you could hear the coaches and the players yelling. You could even hear the clapping and yelling of individual players in between the music that was playing. No Clemson fans were audible in warmups.
With just under an hour remaining, the Clemson band played via a video on the scoreboard as if they would at a home game.
Ohio State’s marching band also played via the video board and the Ohio State fans clapped along. The marching band was in an empty Ohio Stadium performing Script Ohio. As Carmen Ohio played, all Ohio State fans were standing, swinging, and signing along. The dance team performed its dance virtually as well.
Game
Families and fans sat in the lower bowl and the middle bowl. There were no fans in the upper bowl. Fans were scattered throughout a the sections, from top to bottom. Few fans were scattered in the end zone sections.
There were fireworks when both teams came out onto the field. Both teams ran to the end zone to kneel and pray.
When big plays were made, you could hear the crowd reactions. When there was a loud hit, not only did you hear the fans, but you could hear the contact between players, and even the thud of when a player hit the ground. You could hear the foot of Blake Haubiel hit the ball kicking the extra points.
Buckeye players on the sidelines were waving their towels and turning to the fans to pump up the crowd. The entire sideline was involved. The Ohio State fans even got an O-H-I-O around the stadium chant going late in the second quarter.
The video board was very loud and there was fake crowd noise playing throughout the game. Videos and advertisements played on the big screen and fans were shown.
But some plays were awkwardly quiet. When you would expect to hear a roaring stadium, you only heard the same amount of cheers from the fans as any other play.
Running back Miyan Williams got a lot of cheers from the fans after his 15-yard run.
Post-Game
Buckeye fans remained in their seats to watch the post-game trophy ceremony as Clemson fans quietly exited the building.
Clemson players remained on the field post-game as Ohio State sung Carmen Ohio. Their alma matter played after.
After the Ohio State team received its trophies and confetti sprayed across the field, the players went over and saw their friends and families in the stands. After the quick visit and photo-session, Ohio State players headed to the locker room and the fans exited the stands.
After changing in the locker room, Clemson players slowly walked across the confetti-filled field in their sweatsuits.
As I exited the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at the early hours of the next morning, the building was lit up Scarlet and Grey and both teams’ equipment busses were finishing loading up.