After five home games in a row, Auburn prepared for its first weekend without a football game. Auburn has been the host of its first five football games since the first weekend of the academic year.
After so many tailgate weekends, it allowed time for students to relax and enjoy the town.
“I'm definitely excited for there to be like a break. It's been a lot of like back-to-back, and especially since I've gone to every game, I'm kind of ready for a break," said Samantha Richardson, sophomore majoring in nursing.
Some students prefer staying home and having the weekend for themselves.
“It's nice to like, unwind and have time to clean your house, do homework, do your laundry," Richardson said.
A weekend without a game allowed people to focus back on their school tasks and take time to focus on their exams.
According to Ella Stacy, sophomore in exercise science, she used the weekend to recharge and study for upcoming midterms. As grateful as she is for the break, Stacy loves football and is eager to get back into Jordan-Hare.
While many students are relieved to get a weekend without a game, football is still in everyone’s thoughts. Most students watched the game with friends from home.
“There’s a lot of watch parties when there's not a home game. So those, those can be a lot of fun," said Knowlton Garris, freshman in filmmaking.
The days are cooling down so spending time outside and enjoying the weather is an alternative to watching the football game. This also allowed the students to explore local businesses.
“Hanging out with friends in a different situation, not just going to football games, but like going to do something fun. A group of us actually went to, like, the trampoline park five minutes away," Stacy said.
The lines of restaurants decreased, and some people had lunch at local places. For many students, walking around downtown, window-shopping and grabbing brunch is the perfect Saturday morning.
Bowling allies and arcades are great options for those choosing to catch up on celebrations missed due to past game days. Movie theaters or stay-at-home movie nights are an alternative for those looking for more relaxation in their weekend.
Garris used his extra time last weekend to watch football from home with his friends and go to the theatre to watch live plays.
“I'd rather have them every other weekend so it's not all crammed into one. Space it out a little bit," Garris said.
Ideally, football games would be scattered throughout the season to avoid burnout.
Despite having more time to be productive and meet friends this upcoming weekend, students will miss cheering the Auburn tigers at Jordan-Hare.
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