As I raced back to Tuscaloosa on Thursday through the pouring rain, I was anxious to get back and begin the Iron Bowl weekend. Waking up and going to the Quad earlier than most game days was a relatively easy task. The Iron Bowl had finally arrived, and I was hoping for a win.

My hopes were dashed as the game clock ticked down to the final seconds in the fourth quarter, and I began to notice something — Auburn fans are some of the most obnoxious people I have ever seen.

Let me preface by saying that I realize there are classy fans and not every Auburn fan needs to learn respect. I also realize that we have some pretty trashy fans, too, but I have never seen such disrespect and disregard for our campus and our city as I saw on Friday.

They rolled our trees, trashed our Quad, poured drinks on our fans, and even sang their own version of “Rammer Jammer.”

Everyone has a story about an Auburn fan from this past weekend. Personally, I know of two girls who were hit in the face while leaving the stadium — one by another girl and one by a grown man.

Cam Newton taunting our student section after the game perfectly represents the Auburn idea of class and sportsmanship. If an Alabama player had acted like such a fool, action would have been taken against him.

I’m sick of the Auburn obsession with Cam Newton. The Auburn clan strangely worships him. With phrases like “War Cam Eagle,” the fans have completely abandoned the idea of team and placed all hope in an individual.

Ironically, that individual has been at the center of controversy since stepping foot on a college football field.

Whether or not he actually stole a laptop, cheated on a paper or took money to play football is not my issue with Cam. It is just hard for me to imagine a Heisman winner with such controversy surrounding him during his college career.

Even with the NCAA reporting this week that Newton is eligible to play, I don’t think anyone, not even Auburn fans, is naïve enough to believe that he is completely innocent.

I ranted last year about Auburn fans pulling for Texas in the national championship game. I reasoned that no matter what, I would pull for the Alabama or the SEC team represented.

Now that I am facing that situation, I’m going to have to eat my words. In the coming weeks, I’ll be the loudest South Carolina and, if need be, Oregon fan that this campus has ever seen.

Fellow students, no matter what the final score was last Friday, I can tell you this — we can console our loss this coming year with the knowledge that we go to the school with more class, pride and, above all, tradition.

Austin Gaddis is a sophomore majoring in public relations and communication studies. His column runs biweekly on Fridays.