Few campuses in the SEC are as visually stunning as Auburn University. In fact, the campus and the city surrounding it are referred to as “The Loveliest Village on the Plains”. So, a game day at this school is a treat not only for the eyes but for all the senses.
During a visit to Auburn on a fall Saturday one will find students gathered on front porches with Dixie cups in hand, families having a pregame sandwich at Mama Goldberg’s Deli, and people lining up outside Toomer’s Drugs for a cold glass of its world-famous lemonade. Visitors will also see generations of Auburn families tailgating, tossing footballs, and playing cornhole, while students stroll about campus dressed to the nines.
Above all, the loveliest village could also be described as the friendliest village, a place that makes an impression on each and every visitor.
“Auburn holds a special place in my heart because it’s family. Period, no doubt out it,” says Rachel Baribeau, a sportscaster on SiriusXM College Sports Nation and an Auburn graduate. “If you go there and you’re tailgating, you’re part of Auburn’s family.”
Tradition is also of enormous importance at Auburn. From Tiger Walk the player march through campus into Jordan-Hare Stadium, to the rolling of the oak trees on Toomer’s Corner following home victories, many of the traditions on game day in Auburn are as important as the action on the field. Among these traditions, however, one stands above the rest: the flying of Auburn’s War Eagle prior to kickoff.
“I know this is so cliché, but my favorite tradition is every time the eagle flies,” says Auburn student Dub Yarborough. “It is one of the coolest things across all college football.”
War Eagle, indeed!