Auburn Fans Gather for Pre-Game Festivities in Nashville

Pre-game tailgate festivities included food, music and performances by Auburn's band and spirit teams. Before Auburn Football players hit the field in Nissan Stadium Saturday, the Music City was buzzing with excited Tiger fans. Pre-game tailgate festivities included food, music and performances by Auburn's band and spirit teams. Events Evan Thomas, president of the Greater Nashville Auburn Alumni Club, helped organize. 'It really is a labor of love,' Thomas said. 'Our club is a volunteer organization that aims to strengthen the Auburn community here in Music City.' Thomas said there are around 5,000 Auburn grads who live in the area, but they were also happy to welcome members of the fanbase traveling from out of town. 'We see it as a really amazing opportunity to be good stewards of that opportunity to host Auburn family whenever we have bowl games,' Thomas said. Marianne O'Malley was one member of the Auburn family attending Saturday's pre-game festivities. She went to Auburn for undergrad and veterinarian school, but now lives in Maryland. 'We cheer for Maryland when we're home but then when we saw Auburn and Maryland were playing each other down here, we were like, we've got to go,' O'Malley said. And they did exactly that, bringing their kids along for the journey. 'We've always wanted them to go to an Auburn game, and we haven't gotten down to Auburn as a family yet, so this was the best chance to get them to see Auburn and Maryland play together,' O'Malley said. Creating a sense of togetherness, exactly what Thomas said is his group's goal. 'This is what we're here for,' Thomas said. 'We're here to bring everybody together, all in the name of Auburn.'