The upcoming Iron Bowl is a source of excitement and anticipation for students, but this year’s game is also becoming a source of stress for students who wish to split the Thanksgiving break between family and football.
A number of out-of-state students or those who live several hours away have already made the decision to spend their complete break at the Capstone or with family, but students from closer areas are making the decision to travel home to celebrate Thanksgiving and come back to Tuscaloosa in time for the game.
“My travel plans consist of driving down for Thanksgiving early Thursday morning and having to get up early again Friday morning to drive back to Tuscaloosa for the football game,” said Maddie Reaves, a freshman majoring in communicative disorders.
Reaves is from Winfield, Ala., a town about 60 miles north of Tuscaloosa. She said she finds the scheduling of the Alabama-Auburn match up problematic for herself and other students.
“It is a bit inconvenient since the game is early, because if it was at night, it would be a lot more flexible—not only for me, only living a little over an hour away, but also for out-of-state students seeing as it is the day after Thanksgiving.”
Bryant Cooper, a freshman majoring in international business management, said he will be going home to Guin, Ala., on Tuesday. Guin is about 70 miles from Tuscaloosa.
“I feel like the Friday afternoon game disrupts my break,” he said. “I am going home on Tuesday night after classes but I will have to come back early Friday morning so I can make it to the game, and subsequently, I will be missing out on family activities.”
While Cooper wants to attend the anticipated rivalry game, he said the combination of game day and Black Friday traffic is daunting.
“This [traffic] is why I have contemplated not going at all,” he said. “I hate the amount of traffic and the people telling me I can’t park where I live. So with the magnitude of this game, traffic is bound to be a nightmare.”
Reaves echoed Cooper’s concerns about traffic.
“I am definitely dreading the traffic, not only driving back home Thursday morning, but also driving back to Tuscaloosa on Friday morning for the game. So many events in one town over the course of two days can’t be safe,” she said.
Frustration surrounding the gridlock is familiar to anyone who drives to games, but fans may be more concerned on Iron Bowl Friday about having to share the road with Thanksgiving travelers and Black Friday shoppers. However, security and traffic will be business as normal for a game day, according to the Tuscaloosa Police Department.
A representative from TPD said Friday will be treated like any gameday, with the same number of officers stationed in and around the stadium, at busy intersections and around The Strip after the game.
According to City Hall, Tuscaloosa should be prepared for a big crowd, but nothing out of the ordinary for such an intense rivalry match up as UA and Auburn.
“We are expecting one of our largest crowds this year – 150,000 people in the city,” City Clerk Tracy Croom said. “Around 101,000 [will be] in the stadium and 30,000 around the Quad, which is normal for a big game.”
