I started receiving text messages just before 7:00 p.m. last night. I had not seen the latest news and was out of pocket. However...it didn't take long for me to read a few articles and feel a sick, angry and overall disgusted feeling in the pit of my stomach.
For more than 100 years...two sprawling Oak Trees have stood as a living embodiment of Auburn and it's "Family." Following each Auburn victory, thousands of Auburn men and women flock to Toomer's Corner to bathe the mighty stalwarts in white toilet paper. For many this tradition may seem silly and sophomoric...but to we Auburn people it represents something far bigger.
You see...for every roll of toilet paper that swings over those massive, creaking branches...there is the smile on the face of a child...just learning the traditions that he/she have heard their mother and father talk about so gleefully. For every one of those children...that excitedly climbs to the middle of one of those trees...there is a mother and father who remember how long ago it has been since they did the same. For every mother/father...who sheds a single tear as they watch their young ones scurrying hastily up the trunk of our beloved trees...there stands a Grandparent. An elderly man/woman who remembers the first time they stood before these mighty trees...yelled WAR EAGLE and themselves hurled a roll of white celebration as high as they possibly could. As the confetti of torn paper falls down around them...they realize that their lives...the life of the "Auburn Family"...has come full circle. Three generations standing on hallowed ground...time has taken and given...but one thing remains... an unchanging constant...THOSE MIGHT TREES.
They stand as a symbol of Auburn's mighty resolve and the faith and love of it's people. On quiet days...as the wind softly blows across our aging warriors...you can almost hear the whispers of history. The voices of legendary Auburn men like Sug Jordan, Cliff Hare and David Housel...seem to resonate from the trees mighty base. The victorious yells of Pat Sullivan, Bo Jackson, Brent Fullwood and Terry Beasley seem to echo off of Samford Hall and travel along the low-hanging branches. The sounds of the Auburn Fight Song, the Alma Mater and "Eye of the Tiger"...seem to emerge from their powerful, deeply planted, roots. You see that is why these trees are so important and that is what the Auburn family is about...ROOTS!!
These "roots" are stronger than the bitterness of a rivalry, they are more entrenched than the stats of "wins and losses", and they run much deeper than the games played on a field. These "roots" start with Auburn University and continue through the myriad of lives that are touched by it's time-honored creed on a daily basis. We believe that this is a practical world...we believe in education...we believe in honesty and truthfulness...we believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid...we believe in obedience to law...we believe in the human touch...we believe in our country...all of these things are what our "roots" are predicated on. At the end of the day...you can kill our "trees"...you can attempt to destroy our "symbols"...you can scoff at our "family"...you may win the battle but you will NEVER win the war!! You see these "roots" have been planted and cultivated in every beating heart of the Auburn men and women across the world. As long as our hearts beat...as long as we have the breath to bellow "WAR EAGLE"...as long as their are men, women and children who proudly adorn themselves with Orange and Blue...while the "trees" may wither and die...the "roots" only get stronger!! We feed off of each other...our sustenance is the knowledge that what we have is special and that there is NOTHING like it anywhere. And at the end of the day... when all the venom is spewed...all the malice is visible in living color and all the hatred seems to drip from every pore of our detractors...WE BELIEVE IN AUBURN AND LOVE IT!!
The Auburn Spirit...like energy can't be created or destroyed. It is a living embodiment of who and what we are. So today...pray that the trees can be saved...prepare to mourn their loss if they can't...but rejoice in the fact that their void is merely a physical manifestation of ignorance and depravity. Our "roots" remain strong and healthy...that my friends will NEVER change!!
WAR EAGLE...UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN...
Nice one buddy. I won't lie to you; the whole thing makes me want to kick a baby, but it's important to remember this was done by one ignoramous. We'll fight on!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm now a huge fan of your blog!
~Kyle
I can remember the first time I rolled Toomers. The first time I watched as my son and Nephew threw their first roll. Sandy and I always took the boys up Magnolia (when you could drive out that way) drop them off, make the corner on College St. and pick them up a half block down the road. I remember the first time Laurie and I walk down for her to see it. I think she may have converted then and there. We where across the street when a roll landed at her feet. It scared her at first, but the crowd cheered her to throw it back. She threw it pretty good. I said WOW, she said well I was pumped!!!
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