Toomers Trees

I've waited awhile after the initial outcry over the tragedy at Toomers Corner before commenting or posting anything. So much of my Auburn life centers around Toomers Corner, the trees themselves & of course, the iconic tradition of rolling the corner after victories that I needed time to process my own thoughts before committing them into the blogosphere.

Unlike most Auburn fans, I didn't roll Toomers Corner until after I became a student. My dad was the type to "get in and get out" of the football games. The earliest memories I have of Toomers dates back to that fateful day in the summer of 1999, when Margaret, Mom and I went on our first "official" visit to campus. In the process of choosing colleges, we had visited the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, the University of Alabama, the University of Montevallo and, Auburn. I was born and raised an Auburn fan - for as long as I can remember, I have been going to Auburn football games. Most of my Saturdays when I was a kid were spent hearing my parents chanting "Go Bo Go" over and over again. Bo Jackson. Iconic great of Auburn football.

My dad and I would go over to the games, coming in right before kickoff and, usually, leaving a few minutes before the game ended to avoid traffic on the way home. We didn't roll Toomers - but that's okay. My first experience with the tree was when I was 17.

Margaret, Mom and I were visiting the campus and the tour concluded with a stop under the canopy of shade. As the campus guide rambled on and on about the traditions of Toomers, I felt a slow shiver go up from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. I just *knew* that this place, Auburn, was where I was going to spend the next four years of my life. I knew that in this place of tradition that spanned more years than I have been alive - longer than any person has been living.

The first time I rolled Toomers with the other thousands of fans was magical.. chaotic... crazy... and wonderful. All rolled into one. A man from the crowd struck up a cheer and in unison, we chanted together... "It's Great to Be an Auburn Tiger," "Bottagetta," and "Two Bits." When my sisters and brothers came to the homecoming game that year (2000), I took them to Toomers for their first time rolling the corner. It was the first time my dad had seen it rolled, too. I rolled Toomers every time we won for the four years I lived and went to Auburn.

The last time I rolled Toomers was for the Auburn/Georgia game in 2010. Charlie and I went, because he had never experienced Toomers Corner either. The tradition of rolling Toomers corner extended to my sisters and brothers, (Rebecca, '11, Brady '13, Brad UGA '13, Blake UGA '13) to sharing the tradition with them, now as they are college students at the same university that I attended.

The biggest thing that I think has come out of this is 1) the unity that has been shown from the ticked off Alabama fans, who represent the many outcrying against what the lunatic Harvey Updike did and 2) the spirit of the Auburn family. In trying to destroy an image of the school, 'ol Harvey ended up uniting the most spirited and fantastic of college rivalries. In my lifetime, I've never seen Auburn and Alabama fans more united than they are in this tragedy. And, it is a tragedy. I've seen (and heard) people say "its just a tree" and for them, maybe it is... but for the Auburn family, the trees at Toomers Corner were... ARE more than "just a tree." They're representative of so much more than that, and now, more than ever, the Toomers trees represent the Auburn spirit, the Auburn family.

Maybe the trees will survive. Maybe they won't. But nothing will destroy the Auburn family.