Alabama football put on a show for special guest Donald Trump in Saturday's 41-34 underdog win over Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
As Kalen DeBoer's Crimson Tide established a 30-7 lead over the Bulldogs before the former president's halftime exit, it may seem as though Trump was a good luck charm.
Georgia scored 21 unanswered points to make it a ballgame in the fourth quarter long after Trump's early departure, only supporting the claim that much further.
Of course, Alabama fans who recall Trump’s inaugural appearance in Tuscaloosa would argue otherwise, as the Crimson Tide suffered its lone loss of the 2019-20 season to an LSU team on the way to a national championship.
But how did Alabama football players and staff feel about the Republican national candidate's attendance for the Georgia game?
More: 'Welcome to the SEC': How Kalen DeBoer approaches conference play in first Alabama football season
More: 'Age is real': What makes Alabama football freshman Ryan Williams 'different'
From the time his attendance was announced by the university to his midgame arrival, Alabama football players didn’t find the Republican presidential nominee’s appearance to be a huge deal.
Tight end CJ Dippre said he didn’t think it was a “big distraction.” If anything, he found it “kind of awesome.”
"I don't get into politics. I don't vote. I don't get into it just because I don't think I'm old enough to need to get into it right now,” Dippre said. “But I thought it was awesome to have that kind of icon at the game."
Others like linebacker Jihaad Campbell saw it as just another game day.
"We didn't really care about any external factors,” Campbell said. “We had 'College GameDay' come. I think the game was on ABC, a bunch of things that came to the game, and we didn't let that get to our head.”
Alabama’s battle to the finish, capped off with an electric 75-yard touchdown catch by Ryan Williams, wasn’t credited to the Trump effect, either.
“We just had poise and kept fighting,” Campbell said.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football players react to appearance by Donald Trump
