Experiencing LES During a Pandemic

Saturday night my wife and I were lucky enough to be a part of the 6,000 fans in Lavell Edwards Stadium as BYU soundly beat Texas State 52-14.

Purchasing the tickets was stressful. I always prefer to be at LES for games because of the atmosphere. Many of my earliest memories are at BYU football or basketball games. I am far down the priority list though, so I deemed it impossible when they announced just 6,000 for the Troy game. By some miracle, I was able to get two tickets for the game, and finally got to use them Saturday.

It’s been well documented, but the 6,000 felt like a small number compared to the capacity at LES. The nearest group to me was two rows above me and a few feet to the side, and the nearest people on the same row were nearly 20 seats away. Large gaps were obvious near the top corners of each stand, as the 1,500 per stand limit had been hit. Clearly enough space for a few more people to fit in with plenty of social distancing space.

During the night, fans maintained a proper distance for the most part, with just a couple announcements being made for one section of the ROC, directly behind the south goalposts.

I must say, experiencing LES in such a manner was somewhat refreshing. Sure, I would have loved having a packed crowd for the game, but having the space and ease throughout the game was wonderful. Bathrooms were clean and empty. Parking was easy and a quick getaway. I didn’t have a knee in my back like I often do, and I could even use my blanket as a cushion as I leaned back in the fourth quarter and lounged on the bleachers.

Despite the numbers, I’m glad to be back at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Saturday felt like a step towards normalcy in a turbulent year. Now I’m hoping my basketball tickets work out too.