Alabama football is holding onto at least one gameday tradition from the Nick Saban era. When Kalen DeBoer leads the Crimson Tide out of the Bryant-Denny Stadium tunnel on Saturday against Western Kentucky, it will be to the 1991 hard rock classic, AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.
DeBoer made clear in an interview with ABC 33/40 after arriving in Tuscaloosa that the song wouldn’t be going anywhere.
“That’s worked a lot,” DeBoer said. “That’s worked over the years and no need to change that.”
Someone fumbled the operation at DeBoer’s first A-Day. As the team headed toward the field, “Thunderstruck” began to play, before a pause followed by Imagine Dragons’ “Thunder,” followed by the correct song again.
Surely that’ll be ironed out by the time Saturday evening rolls around. It’s a tradition dating back to Saban’s second season in Tuscaloosa, 2008.
The Tide was undefeated heading into a home matchup with Ole Miss on Oct. 18 of that season. During an Oct. 16 episode of ‘Hey Coach,” media guest Melissa Bell, then of ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, asked Saban what his theme music would be.
Saban had to ask his son Nicholas, who was in the audience at Tuscaloosa’s Buffalo Wild Wings that evening.
“What was the name of that song that we (like)?” Saban asked on the show, which the Bryant-Museum sent audio of to AL.com. “Hey, Nicholas is here. Thunder what? What is it? ‘Thunderstruck.’ Yeah, I like that song. It gets me fired up. I wish they’d play it in the stadium. They do sometimes. I like that.”
Saban shifted gears hard after that, jumping into a chat about his pontoon boat (A 25-footer according to the coach). The tradition was set though.
When Alabama ran out of the tunnel on the ensuing Saturday, “Thunderstruck” played, with a grainy YouTube video providing evidence of the change. When Saban led the team out onto the field against Chattanooga in 2023 for his final home game, the same song echoed through Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Alabama opens the 2024 season on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide and WKU are scheduled to kick off at 6:05 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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