Toomer's Corner: A Rivalry Poisoned

The rivalry between the University of Alabama and Auburn University has a colorful and storied history that goes beyond what happens on the field of play. Indeed, within days of moving to the state my sophomore year in high school, it was impressed upon me that I had to choose sides. I tried to remain indifferent for a while, but at one point, in a spirit of playfulness designed to poke the ire of a dear friend of mine (and fellow clarinetist - you know who you are), I aligned myself to Auburn and really, never looked back.

I've seen the best the rivalry has to offer, and until recently, thought I had seen the worst. People take their football passionately down here, and anyone who follows the college sports world knows that the Auburn-Alabama rivalry can get pretty intense. Most of the time, it's all talk and bluster and bravado. But this past season, it took a dark turn, based in part on Auburn's successful run to the BCS National Championship trophy.

Toomer's Corner has long been the site of many Auburn celebrations, with cherished trees that are lovingly rolled with toilet paper following an Auburn victory. For many Auburn fans, Toomer's Corner is sacred ground. And despite the fact that repeated rolling and hosing down of toilet paper in itself takes a toll on the trees, the spot remains a precious treasure in the hearts of Auburn men and women. We do care about the trees.

And now those trees are going to die.

They are going to die, because according to reports, a man claiming to be a devoted Alabama fan called into a local radio show to announce that he had dumped lethal doses of a herbicide called Spike 80DF at the base of the trees. Yesterday, Auburn University confirmed that after soil testing, the man's claim was true.

The famous live oaks at Auburn University's Toom­er's Corner have been given a lethal dose of herbicide and probably can't be saved, university officials said Wednesday.

The soil around the ap­proximately 130-year-old trees, an icon of the univer­sity, registered up to 65 times the normal dose of the herbicide Spike 80DF, Au­burn spokesman Mike Clardy said. Auburn city po­lice are investigating and faculty and grounds crews are trying to rescue the fragile trees but say it's unlikely. …

Auburn officials sampled the soil around the oaks Jan. 28, a day after a University of Alabama fan identifying himself "Al in Dadeville" called in to Paul Finebaum's syndicated radio show and claimed he had poisoned the trees the weekend after the Nov. 26 Iron Bowl game.

"It was kind of hard to take it seriously, and then as he went on it started sounding more serious," Finebaum said. "And now that we've played it back, there's no doubt that he was absolutely serious."

Apparently so. Today, police announced the arrest of a 62-year old man, who describes himself as a former Texas state trooper, on a Class C felony.

Without question, this rivalry has taken a terrible turn. Numerous Alabama fans are themselves aghast at this act of vandalism, which goes far beyond the ordinary pranks that crop up from time to time. I confess to being worried that some similarly destructive individual might seek to retaliate.

What's done is done. Auburn will move on, and I'm certain that in one form or another the Toomer's Corner tradition will remain intact. The rivalry will survive, but make no mistake - the poison seeping through the roots of those beloved trees is also seeping through the hearts of fans on both sides. Unless, and until, people start to put things in proper perspective, the bitter poison will continue to ruin this rivalry. And that's a shame.