The chance to spend another football game in the stands with fellow alumni was worth every penny.
Earlier this year , my house and I planned a trip toNashvilleto seeAuburn Universityplay a postseason football game biz against the University of Maryland in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl .
Though I ’ve graduate and moved on to a professional life history , my love for my alma mater has n’t waver . I am a second - generation alumnus of Auburn University , and I ’ve been assist Auburn football game secret plan with my family for over 20 years now . I was a member of the Auburn march band , so regardless of the football team ’s disk , the opportunity to spend just one more game in the rack with fellow alumni and fans is hard to occur up . There is a certain tier of comradery that survive among sports fan and that experience is n’t quite as impactful when watching a secret plan on telecasting .
My change of location party lie of myself , my husband , and my parents . My mom and my hubby are also Auburn alum , and we ’ve been pay heed games together for over 10 years . We have n’t been able-bodied to attend every single plot , but I would forecast that in that time I ’ve been to over 60 games . Some are better than others . Several years ago , we had been to a postseason game in Nashville , and we did not have adoring memories of that experience . The weather was downright brutal during that first postseason plot , and the stadium was much less organized and clean than it is today . Determined to make new , happier memories this sentence , we start planning as shortly as it was announced where our alma mater ’s team would be playing their 2024 postseason game .
Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Spoiler alert : Auburn did not win the football game , which somewhat dampened the experience , but this is the risk of exposure you take when you build a misstep around an experience like this , and we did n’t let the exit completely ruin our weekend . As a regular sporting event attendee , I would n’t have a profits or loss influence my desire to experience a postseason biz . The power to research a different urban center and unlike locus while view your favourite team in action is all part of the fun .
About the traveler
Job : mercenary writer and release authorAnnual salary:$20,000-$40,000 per yearLocation of manse : Birmingham , AlabamaAge:37
About the vacation
Where : Nashville , TennesseeHow long:48 hoursPlanned budget:$2,000
Upfront costs
Travel:$50 . My family lives in Birmingham , Alabama , and my parent live in Opelika , Alabama , which is a neighboring town of Auburn . It takes my parents just under two hours to drive to Birmingham , and the driving to Nashville is between three and four hr , depending on dealings . We drive from Birmingham to Opelika regularly in the fall for home football games , so we resolve to share a drive with my parent to save a petty on fuel monetary value ( and it never hurts to have extra equipment driver when someone gets timeworn ) . We also had to pre - pay for parking at the hotel , which was $ 25 per night .
Hotels / lodging:$467 . We chose a hotel within walking length of Nissan Stadium so we could lay aside on extra parking price . We secured two rooms at the hotel , and we pick a hotel with breakfast included to dilute that part of the budget further .
Tickets:$560 . Tickets for college football game are not garish , and bowl game or postseason biz tickets can be even pricier . My parents have been longtime supporters of the acrobatic programs at Auburn University , so we were able-bodied to get game tickets for $ 140 each for the four of us .
Relevant anterior expenses:$540 . Because of my parent ’s support for the Name , Image , and Likeness ( NIL ) initiative , which supports Auburn student - athletes , we were able-bodied to purchase tickets for an “ opening move dark ” helper consequence at Nashville ’s popular Wildhorse Saloon . The event began at 6:30 atomic number 61 and go until midnight . Tickets admit a buffet repast , late night snacks , two drinking tickets , a peppiness exchange with band members , cheerleaders , and our mascot , as well as show by coaches and other significant Auburn figures , and , of trend , line saltation lessons .
Day by day
Day 1: Friday
full cost : $ 106.72Since we did n’t have to be in Nashville until 6:30 premier for our even event , my parents drove to Birmingham and pick us up in the other afternoon . We stopped for a quick break atBuc - ee’sin Athens , Alabama because it ’s about midway between Birmingham and Nashville . I blame up a purse of poker chip and a drink ( $ 5.16 ) , and we put a few gallon of gas in the motorcar before continuing the drive to Tennessee ( $ 35 ) .
After tick off into our hotel , we resolve to relax before we needed to venture over to the Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville . take we were going to take vantage of our two swallow ticket , we prefer for the responsible option of using rideshare to get safely to and from our name and address ( $ 24 ) . The drinks usable to pick out from with our potable tickets were not that impressive , so we upgraded to expert pot likker choices — specifically , a vodka - cranberry made with Tito ’s . A next - sidereal day head ache is no longer as prosperous to get over after drinking tattily ( $ 42.56 ) .
Day 2: Saturday
Total price : $ 163.42It was finally gameday , and the turmoil in our hotel pressure group was palpable . We took vantage of our included breakfast , and it ’s a skilful matter we did . Once we arrived inside Nissan Stadium , the price of everything , from a bottle of water system to a cocktail , was outrageous . They know we would have to pay up their asking prices because we were their captive interview . Additionally , the temperature outside had plump overnight , and the Dominicus hardly bothered to glance out from behind the swarm the integral day .
We spend most of our time cycling between pose outside to jolly up for our team and stay inside to watch from the multitude of television receiver because we were unprepared for the cold-blooded temperatures flux with the wind . uncalled-for to say , being deep down made us more likely to pass extra Johnny Cash on food and drink in because it was just correctly there in front of us . We buy several intellectual nourishment and imbibe items off and on throughout the three- to four - hour secret plan , include rive porc sandwiches , nachos , a soft pretzel , and a few beers ( $ 126.49 ) .
After it became clean-cut that our squad was n’t run to come through the game , we leave a petty early to assay to pulsate the crowds we experience would be drive back to Alabama . On the way home , we stopped again at our halfway stage , Buc - ee ’s , where we added a slight more to the gas tank ( $ 35 ) and I buy some confect with which to comfort myself after our red ( $ 1.93 ) .
Photos by Sarah Gilliland
How it all broke down
Upfront and move costs:$1,617Costs from the trip:$270.14Final total:$1,887.14How much I drop liken to my original budget:$112.86 under budget
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