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Auburn Football: Tiger Walk Ranked Among Nation’s Top Ten Entrances

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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Sep 27, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn leads his team through Tiger Walk prior to the game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

The different and unique ways that teams enter the stadium or come onto the field are a special part of college football. You could visit 100 different college campuses across the country and you’ll find 100 different traditions that makes each game an event unlike any other.

Of course, some traditions are better than others – or at least carry more prestige and excitement. And, some may look rather similar to others as well.

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There are Dawg Walks, Vol Walks, and even other Tiger Walks, but among the first and best originated in the 1960s in the Loveliest Village on the Plains. Earlier this week, USA Today’s College Football Fan Index ranked the top ten entrances in the sport. The Tiger Walk, held two hours prior to each Auburn football game, came in tenth on the list.

For the uninitiated, fans meet at the intersection of Donahue Drive and Samford Avenue before home Auburn football games and the team walks through to gate ten of the stadium. Even on the road, fans enjoy the Tiger Walk with the team, and there is a spinoff on Friday nights – the reverse Tiger Walk – in which the team leaves the Auburn Athletic Complex.

The best of the best may have been the 1989 Tiger Walk prior to the first Iron Bowl played at Jordan-Hare Stadium, but each and every week the Tiger Walk is one of college football’s greatest traditions. ESPN’s Ivan Maisel described a very special (and very large) Tiger Walk:

"The Auburn fans roared, their eyes glazed with a mixture of fervor, pride, passion, and perhaps a touch of the Jack Daniels. We were five or six deep and couldn’t get any closer to the street. We were also hemmed in, and didn’t have the zeal-fueled adrenaline to ward off the elbows and other parts of the bouncing, heaving, deafening masses. I no longer had any interest in taking notes, which was just as well, because the noise and the lack of space made it impossible. My own adrenaline kicked in, and I worked my way into open space."

According to USA Today:

"What the Tiger Walk lacks in unbridled emotion it makes up for in community spirit. Before every home game, the Auburn football team walks down Donahue Drive to Jordan-Hare Stadium. Since the 1960s, thousands of fans have lined the street hours before every kickoff, high-fiving players and coaches."

Other entrances to make the list include Running Down the Hill at Clemson, the playing of Enter Sandman at Virginia Tech, Ralphie’s Run at Colorado, the Smoke at Miami Hurricanes games and 2001 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

And while the vast majority of the entrances that make the list are team-focused, the Tiger Walk epitomizes the Auburn Family and the true connection that exists between the University, its students, its fans, and its team.

Next: Auburn vs Ole Miss Football Series History

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