Sights from the 83rd McDonald’s Magic City Classic [PHOTOS]

It was a long and busy day in Birmingham as Alabama State and Alabama A&M met on the football field for the 83rd annual Magic City Classic at Legion Field.

Fans from all over the country came to town to enjoy the festivities from Saturday morning’s parade to the tailgating to the game. And of course, the bands.

• See what the coaches had to say before the week started
• How one local company’s volunteers make the 83rd Magic City Classic possible

Keep reading to see some of the best sights from this year’s Classic.

Pregame + tailgating

Plenty of the fun happens before kickoff. Fans are ready early in the morning, wearing their colors with pride.

Even if you don’t know where Legion Field is, you could just walk outside somewhere in Birmingham and follow the smell of food being grilled, smoked, fried and everything in between. From wings to ribs to rice… okay, now I’m getting hungry again.

Every field and parking lot around the stadium was packed with tailgaters and vendors all week.

The bands

There’s no denying that one of the biggest draws of the week are the bands from each HBCU. The crowd around the bands just to march into the stadium may have had the most excitement from any event all day.

The halftime show brought back that excitement—along with a little bit of fun rivalry shade—plus an appearance from Mickey Mouse, who trained with local drum majors before performing. That guest spot was brought by Disney on the Yard.

But it was eventually time for the bands to take the field, first with Alabama State performing followed by Alabama A&M. The two performances went well beyond the 20 minutes allotted for halftime but no one in the stands seemed to mind.

The football game

Alabama State scored on a 31-yard touchdown pass less than five minutes into the game and the Hornets never looked back. The designated visiting team had their fans in the sun through the entire first half but they had plenty to get excited about.

State eventually built a 27-3 lead after three quarters which included an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ta’Shaun Simms.

However, the Bulldogs didn’t quit. Two touchdown passes from Xavier Lankford + a pair of 2-point conversions cut the lead to just one possession with five minutes to go in the game.

But an interception from Alabama State’s Amon Scarbrough helped seal the Hornets’ third consecutive win in the series.

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