When the Arizona Wildcats took the field Saturday evening, more than 50,000 fans were be there to greet them.
Scoreboard aside, that’s an achievement in of itself.
For reasons in and outside of coach Jedd Fisch’s control, a sell-out crowd at Arizona Stadium a year ago was unthinkable. The program was coming off an apathetic couple of seasons under Kevin Sumlin. Covid-19 still interfered with people’s confidence to attend large sporting events. Most significantly, the on-field product wasn’t worth the price of admission.
Attendance plateaued mid-season when just over 30,000 fans saw the Wildcats upset Covid-stricken Cal 10-3.