When I was approached to write this blog post a few months ago, I honestly had no idea if college football season would happen, or what it would look like if it did happen. One day away from Auburn’s first game of the 2020 season, I could not be more thrilled to say that football is officially back! Rather than focusing on the differences that will take place during the upcoming season, I want to highlight what Saturdays in the fall normally look like as an Auburn student, and why football is so meaningful to the Auburn family.
Football season in Auburn is so much more than the memorable wins and crushing defeats that take place. It’s more than just something to do on a Saturday. It’s more than a free meal at a friendly face’s tailgate, or an excuse to put off studying for that dreaded midterm. You see, football season in Auburn is where the Auburn Family comes together seven times each fall for a reunion of sorts leading to memories that last a lifetime.
Saturdays in Auburn really start a few days before. A sea of white tents begin to take over campus in preparation for Saturday tailgates, and the city of Auburn grows in population as fans, alumni and families of students begin to take over the city. The smell of barbeque begins to engulf the campus on Fridays before the game, as fans of all ages gather at the Athletic Complex to send off the Tigers during “Reverse Tiger Walk.” This is when the football team departs Auburn to spend the night in Montgomery, Alabama before the game.
Saturdays start bright and early regardless of the kickoff time. Everyone is welcome at each other’s tailgate in Auburn, regardless of which team they’re rooting for. If fans aren’t stopping by a tailgate, it’s probably because they’re in downtown Auburn enjoying a legendary Toomer’s Lemonade from Toomer’s Drugs (enjoying a Toomer’s lemonade is listed in Southern Living’s Top 100 Things to do Before you Die).
Two hours before kickoff, thousands of Auburn fans line Donahue Drive for Tiger Walk, where the football team and coaches walk from the Athletic Complex into Jordan-Hare Stadium to prepare for the game. It’s also about this time that many students begin to enter the stadium and fans around the campus begin to pack up their tailgates in preparation for game time. Over the next two hours, 87,451 fans pack Jordan-Hare Stadium in anticipation for kickoff. Roughly 15 minutes before kickoff, Auburn’s eighth War Eagle, Aurea, circles the stadium as 87,451 excited fans yell, “WAARRRRR EAGLE! HEY!”
From that point, Jordan-Hare Stadium turns into the fifth largest city in the state of Alabama, and the loudest in all of America. Everyone does their best to cheer our Tigers onto victory, and sometimes the victories are so exciting that they only take one second before thousands storm Toomer’s Corner to celebrate a hard fought victory in the greatest rivalry in all of college football.
