They live amongst us. They are in the classrooms and we sit with them at lunch. They are the Alabama fans. You know they are around; you can't ignore those swirly A's.
Since the first Iron Bowl in 1893 the tension between Alabama and Auburn fans has been rampant. however, there are still Alabama fans living on the Plains.
Katherine Carnes, senior in early childhood education, is one of those fans. She was born to an Auburn alum and Alabama fan who taught her to always root for the Crimson Tide.
Watching the 2012 BCS National Championship at home with her family, Carnes said they can be a little superstitious during the game.
"We have lucky seats at my house," Carnes said. "We try not to go to any big games, because we might be unlucky. I sit in the chair with the most recent championship shirt on, and we have our lucky football, whoever's holding it, if we start doing bad we give it to someone else and if they're lucky they get to keep it the rest of the game. I have to have it in
my left hand for defense. It's only crazy if it doesn't work."
Carnes has no trepidation about her dedication to her team. In fact, she is quite open about it. She wears her SEC Championship t-shirt on campus and intends to sport her recent BCS National Championship acquisition for the first day of class.
"Usually I don't really get any comments on it," Carnes said. "I get a lot of 'Roll Tides' actually. You'd be surprised. There are a couple times that someone's like 'Really?' And gets mad at it. I get a lot of 'Well then, why do you go here?' kind of things."
Carnes says her campus response is two "Roll Tides" for every "War Eagle."
"When people ask me why I go here, did you come to Auburn specifically to go to football games?" Carnes said. "I didn't think so. We're here for the same reasons, to get an education."
Matthew Nesbitt, junior in nursing, is a life-long Auburn fan.
"Auburn isn't the only university that is huge on school pride during football season," Nesbitt said. "You don't necessarily have to be a fan of the school to enjoy its academic life, which is one of the best in the nation."
Carnes said she has tried to cross over to the "dark-side."
"When we won the National Championship I went and rolled the tree," Carnes said. "I tried to be an Auburn fan; it didn't work out."
It is a common sterotype that Alabama fans can be a little excessive when proclaiming their allegiance to Alabama. With game day newsfeeds that are unreadable and a coach with the slogan "Hail Saban," Bama fans' dedication is known for going too far.
Joining Carnes in the club of Auburn students supporting the rival is Nathan Coleman, senior in software engineering.
Coleman said he knows about the craze surrounding University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
"I don't worship him, but I think he's Jesus," Coleman said with a laugh.
Coleman recognizes the reputation Bama fans can get, but knows that some just give the group a bad
name. Harvey Updyke is an all too real example.
But the door swings both ways.
Nesbitt said he believes Auburn fans can get just as rowdy "talking spit" as Alabama fans.
"Some students at Alabama come across a tad snooty just because their school has national championship titles," Nesbitt said. "I'm sorry, but when did winning at a sport suddenly make a university better at the one thing college is mainly about: achieving a quality education."
Coleman was introduced to football two years ago and his alliance is to Alabama football alone.
"I'm not interested in other sports in general, but I hear there are funnel cakes at the baseball games," Coleman said.
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