The Top 5 College Football Traditions
Traditions help make college football unique. Unlike most NFL teams, each college football team has its own traditions that fans cherish and enjoy.
Whether it’s the march into the stadium or the singing of the alma mater after a game, all of these traditions help make college football great.
Walks of champions
Almost every school out there has a walk of champions. It’s when the football team walks through its fans to get to the stadium before the game.
It allows fans to get up close and personal with their favorite coaches and players before kick-off.
One of the best walks of champions takes place at the University of Alabama where the players walk through the crowd up to Bryant-Denny Stadium. Leading up to the stadium, you will see statues of the national championship-winning coaches and the names of some players on the sidewalk who have contributed to Alabama’s football tradition.
Tailgating
Who doesn’t like to sit out with your friends and family before a game and just enjoy some good food and good company? Tailgating allows fans to do just that. You may see cars, trucks, and vans all sitting out in front of a stadium a week in advance with fans just tailgating.
One of the best places to do so is at The Grove at the University of Mississippi. It has been named one of the best places to tailgate in the country, according to The Southern Weekend.
The Grove is at the center of campus where everyone gathers to drink, eat, and mingle before a Rebels game.
College football features many great places to tailgate, but if you get the opportunity, you should do it there.
Mascots
Every school has a mascot. But in some places, the mascot becomes part of the game.
Auburn University, for example, releases Spirit the eagle before every Tigers home game. At the University of Colorado, Ralphie the buffalo is released — or rather, escorted onto the field — before each home game.
Of course, you can’t forget Uga the bulldog at the University of Georgia or Bevo the longhorn at the University of Texas.
All these mascots play an important part in their school’s traditions.
Marching bands
Marching bands get the crowds fired up before, during, and after games. But one of the best marching band traditions is in the SWAC where there is a battle of the bands at halftime between the two schools playing.
One of the best battles of the bands takes place during the Bayou Classic between Southern University and Grambling University. The game, which is played during Thanksgiving weekend, is not just between the Jaguars and Tigers football teams; it is also a battle to see who has the best band at halftime.
Even if some years feature teams that may not be very good, the games are worth watching just for the classic battles of the bands at halftime.
The singing of the alma mater
The Army-Navy game probably has the best traditions in all of college football, including the cadets and midshipmen walking into the stadium while dressed in their uniforms and the President of the United States coming to the game and sitting on both sidelines at various points during the contest.
But the best tradition of all is the brotherhood shown after the game during the singing of the alma maters by each school.
Almost every football fan can agree that it might be the best tradition in any sport
