ESPN’s First Take airs from Legion Field ahead of Magic City Classic

Every year, the Magic City Classic brings people from all over the state to Legion Field for the annual rivalry game between Alabama State and Alabama A&M.

But the Classic is about more than the 60 minutes of football played on the field.

And Friday morning, the excitement crossed state lines as ESPN’s First Take came to town to share the scene with a national audience.

First Take, ESPN’s daily morning show starring Stephen A. Smith, brought their set to the 50-yard line at Legion Field on Friday. Analysts Cam Newton and Ryan Clark were also in the building along with host Amina Smith.

“I’ve never been here before but I’ve always heard about it… The show is here for y’all. The show is here because we want to make sure an national audience sees what HBCUs are all about, what HBCUs represent… Y’all have made us so proud. There’s so much talent from HBCUs that are getting recognized more and more every single day… We continue to show that nobody can stop us.”

Stephen A. Smith

Alabama State and Alabama A&M kick off Saturday afternoon at 2:30PM as the Hornets try to extend their winning streak to four games in the rivalry series.

Check out all the best sights + sounds from ESPN’s visit to Birmingham in the full story from The Bama Buzz.