Auburn University and the surrounding Auburn community are home to a rich history of game day traditions and activities for the whole family.
One pregame activity is Football, Fans and Feathers hosted by the Southeastern Raptor Center. This hour-long educational program takes place on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. before games and gives visitors a chance to learn about the birds under the center’s care.
During the program, visitors can see the birds up close as they fly and showcase each species' unique characteristics. Tickets are available at the SRC before the show and online at auburn.edu/raptor. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $8 for pre-K through high school and free for children 3 and under.
Football, Fans and Feathers is the educational program of the SRC, but the center’s main focus is on rehabilitating birds so they can be released back into the wild. Birds not eligible for release become ambassadors in the center’s educational programs.
“We do all the education programming, all the shows – that's what Football, Fans and Feathers is, [it's] one of those education programs,” said Joel Jacobson from the SRC.
Another Friday to-do is The Auburn Downtown Merchants Association’s “Come Home to the Corner” for another year of family-friendly fun. Each Friday night before home football games, downtown streets are closed and shops and restaurants downtown stay open longer as live music from local artists play to create a large-scale block party environment.
One fan-favorite Saturday pregame tradition is the Tiger Walk. This tradition sees the Auburn Tigers walking from the Athletics Complex down Donahue Drive to Jordan-Hare Stadium with fans lining the streets cheering as they go by. The Tiger Walk begins two hours before every game.
The first Tiger Walks began as a group of kids who would walk Donahue Drive to greet the team and get autographs in the 1960s. The most famous Tiger Walk was on Dec. 2, 1989, when the yearly matchup between Auburn and Alabama was played at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time. An estimated 20,000 fans crowded Donahue Drive to cheer on the Tigers that day.
For fans interested in attending a pep rally after the Tiger Walk, Auburn University holds the Spirit March which then leads into the Four Corners Pep Rally. The Auburn University Marching Band, cheerleaders and Tiger Paws all come together and march into Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Of course, no Auburn tradition list would be complete without including the rolling of Toomer’s Corner after a win. The University announced earlier this year that the famous Auburn Oaks are ready to be rolled once again after a long hiatus.
The original trees were poisoned in 2011 and removed in 2013. Auburn brought in replacement trees in 2015, but they were set abalze in 2016 — stunting the growth. The replacement trees were subsequently replaced again in 2017 and were unable to be rolled to help them grow and establish a root system — making it possible to bring back the tradition to its full capacity starting in the 2023 season.
With the return of one of the most loved traditions on the Plains, there is an array of activities and events for fans of all ages to enjoy when the Tigers play at home in 2023.
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