The most important number from the Bayou Classic may not be the 34 points Grambling State scored to defeat rival Southern 34-23 Saturday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
That number just might be 62,907 — the largest Bayou Classic crowd on hand since the game returned to New Orleans in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina forced the game to move to Houston in 2005.
The previous post-Katrina high mark was 59,874 at the 2008 classic.
Saturday’s attendance number was 5,055 more than last year’s game attendance of 57,852. This year’s game marked the fourth-straight year of increased attendance for the game.
The attendance was also 22,192 more than the 2011 low-water mark of 40,715.
2015 attendance: 62,907
2014 attendance: 57,852
2013 attendance: 47,385
2012 attendance: 45,980
2011 attendance: 40,715
2010 attendance: 43,494
2009 attendance: 53,618
2008 attendance: 59,874
2007 attendance: 53,297
2006 attendance: 47,136 (1st game back in Superdome)
2005 attendance: 53,214 (Hurricane Katrina: Reliant/NRG Stadium, Houston)
I am glad attendance is up since hardly anyone knew the game was televised on NBC Sports.