In today's world of sports, there are many strategies teams use to disrupt their opponent's momentum.
Whether it is freezing the kicker before a game-changing field goal or calling a timeout in a basketball game when the opponent has a hot shooting hand, these strategies can be key in the outcome of a game.
There is one strategy, however, that has no place in sports: faking an injury.
Faking injuries, or "flopping," has been prevalent in sports since the creation of organized sports.
Whether it be Cristiano Ronaldo faking tears and acting like his leg had been removed at the hip, or Mario Chalmers pretending he's broken every bone in his body after receiving a reach-in foul, the flop has become a plague in sports.
Flopping is such a problem that it has damaged the perception of entire sports. As a soccer player in high school, I was often the target of jokes about how soccer players were "soft" or "not playing a real sport."
This is unfortunate, because nothing could be further from the truth. Soccer requires strength, endurance and physicality.
However, the common perception of the sport is it is played by athletes who cannot handle any physical contact.
While some will say the main reason for this is that soccer is a non-contact sport, I dare to say flopping is undoubtedly the reason behind this misconception.
During the Auburn-Texas A&M game, there were several instances where an Aggie player who seemed fine would suddenly drop to the turf after glancing to the sideline. This received a good deal of negative attention, especially from Auburn fans who claimed the Aggies were faking injuries in an attempt to halt Auburn's momentum.
Two weeks later, the roles were reversed. Near the end of the third quarter, Arkansas was in Auburn's redzone.
Auburn linebacker Anthony Swain was seen standing in the endzone unfazed. After glancing to the sideline, he dropped to the turf, seemingly in agony.
As a die-hard Auburn fan for 23 years, I am disgusted. Obviously, things are much better for the Tigers this year than last year.
However, if we are resorting to cheap gimmicks such as faking an injury, we have a major problem.
In SEC country, fans are almost as loyal to their conference as their team, and in a conference known for tough and physical play, flopping is a concept that goes against everything the SEC stands for.
We, as Auburn fans, should be deeply embarrassed of what happened Saturday.
Our coaches and players who were involved in the flopping play should not only be embarrassed, they should be ashamed of themselves.
Not only did the flop make Auburn fans sound like hypocrites for complaining about Texas A&M, but the play subjected Auburn to mockery across the country.
While head coach Gus Malzahn denied the injury was faked, and claimed coaches don't tell their players to fake injuries, it's hard to believe Swain's "injury" was anything less than a cheap ploy to slow down Arkansas.
After the worst season in Auburn football history, Auburn is finally regaining some of its lost national respect.
However, if we do not make it clear that we as the Auburn fan base expect more, we will not earn any respect, nor do we deserve it.
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