Why Cramton Bowl went dark during halftime of Salute to Veterans Bowl
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Right as the Salute to Veterans Bowl hit halftime in Montgomery on Tuesday, Dec. 16, the lights at the Cramton Bowl went dark.
It happened to be during Troy football coach Gerad Parker’s halftime interview with ESPN as his Trojans led Jacksonville State 13-7, thanks to two second-quarter field goals. Parker was unsure of what was going on when the stadium went dark.
ESPN’s Harry Lyles and Parker were able to joke about the accident to end the interview.
.@harrylylesjr to Troy HC Gerad Parker after the lights turned off: “Hopefully I’ll be able to see you in the 2nd half” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/lPtngqZwJ3
— 🜲 🜲 🜲 (@fsh733) December 17, 2025
The lights stayed off for under a minute. It’s normal operating procedure at Cramton Bowl, the host site of the bowl game. The stadium hosts at least one high school football game per week for the Montgomery City Public School System.
For most games before the bands take the field, the stadium cuts the lights. It was no different for the bowl game, as Troy fans took the opportunity to pull out their phone flashlights before their band took the field.
The lights returned and both bands took the field for their halftime shows.
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports, Jax State athletics, the outdoors in Alabama and more for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Cramton Bowl goes dark at halftime of Salute to Veterans Bowl: What happened?
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