Consider a famous football school in the U.S., for example Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Auburn, and Ohio State.
I am doing a PhD in a STEM field at one of these schools, and on 6 or 7 Saturdays of the semester, there is a home game for the football team, and I'd like to attend the game and be a part of the tradition. It's likely an all-day affair, pre-game, going to the game, and more festivities after the game.
My research advisor isn't into sports — at all. And the expectation is that we're doing work on these Saturdays, while our football stadium nearby is filled with 80,000 or so fans cheering on our team.
Would it be reasonable to ask my advisor for Saturdays off, so that I can participate in our school's football tradition?
How could I go about saying this to him, without upsetting him, or coming off as "unfocused"?
Clarification: Plenty of communication takes place on weekends. My advisor is very intense, micromanages almost, but that style suits me well, and I find his dedication really admirable. But I don't want to miss out on football either; I'm not in graduate school for very long.