Opener against Va. Tech a sellout

TUSCALOOSA | Anyone hoping to buy football tickets from the University of Alabama or Virginia Tech for the 2009 season opener in Atlanta has run out of time.

Organizers announced Tuesday that both schools are out of their allotted 31,200 tickets, making the game a sellout.

'That is a substantiated fact,' said Matt Garvey, Chick-fil-A Bowl Vice President of Communications. 'There's not even going to be a need for a public ticket sale.'

Consequently, the only remaining tickets for the Tide's season are single-game seats, which go on sale July 13 (with season tickets scheduled to be mailed around Aug. 3), or returns from opposing teams.

The Crimson Tide will play the Hokies on Sept. 5 at the Georgia Dome at 7 p.m. on ABC. Georgia Dome capacity is listed as 70,097, and the schools are expected to receive a payout of approximately $2 million.

Both teams are expected to be ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press preseason poll due out next month, and many news organizations are already hyping it as one of the best, if not the top non-conference game of the season.

'There is no doubt that our fans are excited about this game and the opportunity to get the 2009 season started with such a high profile event,' Director of Athletics Mal Moore said in a statement. 'Alabama fans eagerly await the start of each new season and I think the chance to open in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game for the second year in a row is a definite plus for our team and all those that follow the Crimson Tide.'

Virginia Tech announced June 23 it sold its allotment.

'The Hokie Nation has responded in typical fashion as it supports our football program in this exciting 2009 season opener,' Director of Athletics Jim Weaver said in a release.

Alabama began its run of impressive neutral-site games under coach Nick Saban on Sept. 29, 2007, with the 'River City Showdown.' Although Jacksonville Municipal Stadium has been the home to the annual Florida-Georgia rivalry (formerly known as the 'World's Largest Cocktail Party'), and Super Bowl XXXIX with New England defeating Philadelphia 24–21 (in front of 78,125), UA's game against Florida State set a stadium attendance record of 85,412.

In order to make that possible, the Gator Bowl Association added 5,800 extra seats, with each school receiving roughly 36,000 tickets.

Last year, the No. 24 Crimson Tide faced No. 9 Clemson in the inaugural Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, which the president of the Atlanta Sports Council, Gary Stokan, called beforehand 'the toughest ticket in Georgia Dome history.' The 34-10 rout, on ABC and with ESPN's College GameDay on location, helped spark Alabama's perfect regular season.

The Tide is not expected to play a neutral-site game in 2010, but will host the first game in expanded Bryant-Denny Stadium against San Jose State on Sept. 4, one week before hosting Penn State in a home-and-home series.

Incidentally, Sports Illustrated's 10th annual 'Where Are They Now?' edition, which will hit newsstands today, includes a profile of the famous 1979 Sugar Bowl goal-line stand against the Nittany Lions to win the national championship.

'Immovable Force' by Lars Anderson, focusses on defensive lineman Barry Krauss, Murray Legg, Marty Lyons and Rich Wingo for their famous stop of Penn State tailback Mike Guman on fourth-and-goal.

'At the precise moment that Krauss and Guman collided, SI photographer Walter Iooss Jr. snapped an iconic shot that would make the cover of that week's issue, a picture whose spirit and upward thrust of angles faintly echo the famous photo of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima,' Anderson wrote. 'So powerful was the image that Daniel Moore, then a 25-year-old graphic designer in Birmingham, made a painting of the scene. It's no stretch to say that Goal Line Stand is the most popular piece of artwork in Alabama; it hangs in countless dens, offices, restaurants and bars throughout the state. ‘That painting hit home, because that single image symbolized Bear Bryant's philosophy,' says Moore. ‘It was gut-check time for the players, and they made a stand.''

Reach Christopher Walsh at christopher.walsh@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0196.