Quixotes was packed Nov. 8, even though it was the Saturday night after Auburn lost to Texas A&M 41-38.
After the game, fans of both teams found their way to the bars. The line outside Quixotes stretched to the doors of the Gap next door.
For Austin Smith, bouncer at Quixotes and junior in finance, "game days are crazy."
Smith sat on a wooden chair outside the door to the left of the bar's main entrance. He wore a camo baseball cap and neon yellow hoodie.
Smith directed patrons to the front, where fellow bouncer Brooks Spraetz, senior in supply chain management, was checking IDs and giving out brown wristbands for 21-and-over customers.
During weekday mornings, Smith goes to class.
During nights and Saturdays, Smith works as a bouncer.
"Your main job is to be protection for people," Smith said. "If anything happens, you're expected to deal with it. There will be fights. It's what you expect in a bar."
Smith said he was excited when he first took the job during Christmas break 2013.
"I thought I was the coolest kid," Smith said. "I get to work late at night, hang around with a bunch of girls and throw people out of a bar."
Though he said he still likes his job, Smith said the novelty of throwing people out of the bar has worn off.
"I'm tired of doing it," Smith said. "It just gets [to be] a pain, and it's just unnecessary. People need to leave on their own."
Christopher Cotton, another Quixotes bouncer, said the number of people he has to physically eject varies.
"In a week, you might throw out two to three people," Cotton said. "Most people, if you ask them to leave, they will leave."
Smith said his first option is to ask an unruly customer's friends to remove the person. If he or she becomes physically aggressive, Smith wraps them in a bear hug and carries them to the street.
"We're not allowed to hit anyone," Smith said. "The idea is to get them outside the door in the safest way possible."
Smith said he has even had to eject people he knows when they become unruly.
"I've thrown some of my best friends out of here," Smith said.
Cotton said an average night involves a lot of standing around and watching the crowd.
"Every now and then, you get something that's out of hand, and you have to handle the situation, but most of the time, you just watch people," Cotton said. "You have to answer a lot of stupid questions, but that's pretty much the gist of it."
Smith said the work becomes difficult on weekends, when he functions on as little as two hours of sleep.
"I've been on my feet since 9 o'clock this morning, and I've been sitting down since 8 (p.m.), and it's glorious," Smith said.
Smith said he appreciates the work and having the chance to work so many hours. In another job, he might not have the chance to earn as much.
"I love this job," Smith said.
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