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The goalposts were somewhere along Broadway, on the way to the river, as Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea was near tears and emotional as he spoke about a “breakthrough” moment for a program that has had such defeats against the elite of the SEC shouldn't actually exist.

“We look forward to having more of these nights,” Lea said.

More of this? Look, Vanderbilt is going to win again. But there will not be another golden festival like this. It devolved into Nashville's usual Saturday night revelry, and for once caught the attention of a fun-loving city while the city ignores the Commodores most of the time.

A lot of people here will end up proverb They were there when Vanderbilt toppled mighty Alabama. That will be far more than the actual number of Vanderbilt fans who were at FirstBank Stadium to witness the Commodores' impressive 40-35 win and then storm the field.

Because most of the spectators in the stadium wore purple and white on Saturday. I give the Alabama fans 75% – and it could have been more.

This is by no means unique to Vanderbilt and everyone knows it.

After Saturday's win, the Commodores posted a clip of former Alabama coach Nick Saban from a few weeks ago on the stadium's new large video board. He told ESPN's “The Pat McAfee Show” that “the only place to play in the SEC that isn't hard to play is Vanderbilt.”

“Because when you go to Vanderbilt, you have more fans there than them,” Saban continued. “And that’s no disrespect to them. It’s just the truth.”

After such a statement, Vanderbilt can enjoy the delicious satisfaction of having beaten Alabama of all teams.

But Saban wasn't wrong.

Alabama lost on Saturday despite the “road” atmosphere being completely in jeopardy. The Crimson Tide's rabid fan base is famous for such invasions, but Virginia Tech fans did the same thing earlier this season.

Vanderbilt still beat Virginia Tech. And now it has beaten Alabama, leaving little room for argument with the following two sentences:

Lea has a damn good soccer team.

And it's high time for our own fan base to come out to support us on match days.

“We have to fill the stadium with black and gold jerseys,” said Lea. “And if we do that, it will be difficult. It may not be the biggest, but it's overhead and can get loud. I think this is a little glimpse of what a Saturday night in Nashville can be.”

Lea's excitement after this win was well deserved. This was easily his biggest victory as a head coach to date. It was the largest in modern program history and Lea is a Vanderbilt guy. Since his return, he has boldly highlighted Vanderbilt's potential in football like few others would dare. He once appeared at SEC Media Days and announced with a laugh that he wanted to make Vanderbilt the best program in the country, and “that's what I'm looking for,” he repeated Saturday.

“It's a little cheap to bring this up now,” Lea said after beating the No. 1-ranked team in the AP poll, “but that's what I said, and I think when I said it did “Nobody really understood it.” But the people who know me and know what we do here understood it.”

It's difficult to feel like you have a big program when the fans are visiting, so the fans are constantly streaming into your own stadium and are in the majority. This is not just a competitive disadvantage. Recruits also sit in these seats.

Vanderbilt, in fairness, did Supporters will be in attendance on Saturday. Some of them were loud at times. For example, a greeting to the students. Her presence was felt. They turned out wonderfully this season.

For years, however, there has been a major gap between Lea's expressed vision for Vanderbilt's program and his results on the ground. Because of this, more fans haven't accepted the Commodores as a serious competitor. They are so used to disappointment. Until recently, this pessimism was understandable.

However, not anymore. Vanderbilt fans should be proud of this team. It's a lively and entertaining group where quarterback Diego Pavia embodies the team-wide mentality of not backing down in big moments. Or when confronted with superior talent. The Commodores mentally and physically outclassed an opponent on Saturday that is brimming with top talent and a program that won 59-0 in its last game at Vanderbilt Stadium.

That was (pause for impact) Alabama football. And Vanderbilt didn't care at all. Wasn't the least bit afraid. It's easy to support a team like that. The Commodores probably won't win every remaining game, but they've earned the right to believe they have a chance against anyone.

They just need their fan base to think so too.

“Hopefully an evening like this evening will make the difference for some people,” said Lea. “Hopefully, next time we’re home, you’ll get a glimpse of what Vanderbilt’s support could mean for our program. I'm not bitter about it. We have to play a certain way to get people interested.”

Vanderbilt played like that on Saturday.

I would imagine all the people who wear purple in the West End would agree.

Reach Tennessee sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and on the X Platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.

On By John Fenwick

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