A night of Crimson Chaos: Covering Alabama basketball from rowdy student section

Posted by Admin November 6, 2024 Basketball

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With Alabama basketball’s Latrell Wrightsell Jr.’s second-half shot against UNC-Asheville to send the scoreboard to 100, life breathed back into the Coleman Coliseum student section known as Crimson Chaos.

Rows of copies of “The Bama Times,” dropped to reveal a wave of shiny, white hardhats bobbing up and down in a sea of crimson, ready for what the faithful hope will be a national championship run. The faux, gibberish-filled newspaper was the prop of the night to remind the Bulldogs that No. 2-ranked Alabama is the talk of college basketball.

Crimson Chaos entered Monday’s season-opening doubleheader with a membership roll of 1,300. The noise level suggested the voices of the student supporters had been well-rested since April, when Alabama’s first Final Four run ended.

Sitting in the thick of Crimson Chaos is to experience the heartbeat of a university. From booze-fueled heckling to a seat reserved for a fallen friend, the love and antics in the Alabama student section are big on what students hope will be a national championship run, and the price to join the exclusive crew is small.

Coach Nate Oats said after the game that he heard the sold-out show. Alabama had even run out of room in the student section.

After picking up their Final Four replica banners and season schedules prior to tipoff, a well-balanced number of guys and gals caught up over their common love, reading off scores from other college games and asking how tall they might look on the court from their seats. The buzz hushed and students stamped their feet excitedly as the arena lights bled red.

At last, it was almost game time.

Once the clock started running, resumed conversations were interrupted as student fans sprang up to celebrate made 3-pointers. Or to mimic slam-dunks. Or even bark at the exploits of rim-reaper Cliff Omoruyi, a Rutgers transfer whom students have renamed “Big Crimson Dog” after the book series and 2000s animated children’s TV show “Clifford the Big Red Dog.”

Colorful clothes and slogans characterize the chaos at Alabama basketball

Members found different ways to express their fandom, whether through stickers on their hardhats or patterns on their overalls, be it pinstripes or the school’s signature script A. Others donned Roll Tide-emblazoned flags as capes and faces scarlet with war paint.

Based on slogan T-shirts worn by a select group of girls, the term “Blue Collar Baby” is another way to show support of Alabama’s brand of blue-collar ball.

Organization president Andy Hayes, a senior from Birmingham, stood out among his cohorts in his new plaid jacket, awarded in a pregame ceremony to honor a predecessor, late Crimson Tide superfan Luke Ratliff, better known as “Fluffopotamus.”

Hayes presides over the group’s largest season-opening membership in its history, which dates back 15 years.

“In the past, you know, we’re usually at maybe 800, give or take,” Hayes said a few days before the game.

Hayes expects men’s basketball to take up the bulk of his duties as president, but noted that Crimson Chaos supports other UA athletics teams.

At tipoff for the women’s basketball opener against New Orleans before the men’s game, about 100 or so fans took places throughout the venue that holds 13,583.

Scattered cheers echoed like drops in a well.

Meanwhile, student seating sections R and S were stacked with Crimson Chaos members, making it sound more like an SEC game as returning starter Aaliyah Nye drained 21 of her 25 total points from the arc.

Cheerleaders took the court to lead the home side of Coleman to yell “Ala” and the visitors side to shout “Bama.” Backed by the student section, the home side was heavy on the “Ala.”

No strict rules, but Crimson Chaos has a constitution

Crimson Chaos members join by paying a yearly fee of $25 and sign the organization’s constitution. (Yes, a constitution.) That’s about as formal as it gets.

“I think the only thing that really has to qualify you for it is obviously you have to have a passion for Alabama sports, Alabama athletics,” Hayes said.

Beer-toting members make it clear the bylaws do not include a dry student section: Alcohol can flow freely for those over age 21. Underage folks can have fun with the whipped-cream-doused, sprinkle-smothered funnel cakes from the concession stand.

Perks include a T-shirt, exclusive giveaways, stadium tours, meet-and-greets and discounts, plus Hayes’ personal favorite: early entry to every game for the best seats in the house.

Hayes said chants and cheers often come “in the moment.” Emails go out weekly, but much of the communication is less formal.

“Lots of word of mouth,” Hayes said.

Fueled by a ‘Fluffopotamus’-sized love for Alabama basketball

The model Crimson Chaos member would embody the characteristics of the guy who made it what it’s become today: “Fluff.”

Taking notes from Ratliff, students taunted UNC-Asheville with a boisterous “boo” as players took the court for warmups. As seconds trickled down on the clock for the 110-54 victory, a chorus of jangling keys reached a crescendo, signaling to the Bulldogs that it was time to board the bus.

“It’s easy to get the kids to come out when we’re No. 2 in the country and we’re going to the Final Four,” Hayes said, “but Luke brought the kids out when we were fighting to make the NCAA Tournament.”

Ratliff rarely missed a game before dying from COVID-19 complications at age 23 in April 2021. After tagging along for Alabama’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament against UCLA in Indianapolis that year, he returned to Tuscaloosa and was hospitalized.

Crimson Chaos still reserves a front-row spot in the section for Ratliff, honored with a placard on seat No. 7.

There’s more to the chaos than hardhats: The mission is to pack the student section

People see the signature hardhats and the handcrafted signs bound for social media fame as folks find a laugh over Crimson Chaos antics.

They don’t see the auxiliary board, which boasts almost 20 volunteers this year, chalking sidewalks around campus or making graphics for social media posts. Nor do they see executive members in behind-the-scenes meetings with UA’s athletic marketing team or with Oats and his staff.

During an open practice weeks before the Crimson Tide opened its season, Oats locked eyes with Hayes:

“We need Coleman Coliseum packed out with students way before conference play,” he said.

His stern tone suggested the coach meant business for his sixth season in Tuscaloosa.

By the end of last season’s Final Four run, Crimson Chaos had grown to about 3,000 members. Hayes expects at least as many by the time this season ends.

Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.