Auburn Fans Say Farewell to Toomer’s Oaks

Auburn University recently announced fans will have one final chance to roll the Oaks at Toomer's Corner following the football team's annual spring practice game on April 20th. Fans also have a chance to share their memories as they bid farewell to one of the University's oldest traditions.

Letterstotoomers.com is currently asking the Auburn faithful to share their stories and reflections on the importance of the Toomer's Oaks tradition. A call to submit on the site reads, "Here's your chance to say thank you—and goodbye—to these beloved members of the Auburn Family. Whether you were raised loving them your whole life, or just had one memorable experience, take a moment to tell the Toomer's Corner Oaks what they have meant to you."

I've only read one story from Letterstotoomers, but it was heart wrenching. I am (and always have been) an Alabama fan, and while I am guilty of trash-talking the Tigers, it pains me to see their beloved tradition literally poisoned by pathological hatred.

Southern Saturdays are the greatest. There is no sport I love more than college football. Our fandom can make us do crazy things sometimes: screaming at the TV, waiting (read: freezing) outside Academy at midnight to be the first to get BCS Championship Gear, driving hundreds of miles just to tailgate in Miami, growing up thinking the phrase "Roll Tide Roll" is actually part of the lyrics to "Sweet Home Alabama"-- it's all as fun as it is fanatical.

Bama fans know tradition. We love it. We live it--but so do our Auburn brethren. I hate to see one of their most beloved traditions taken away by some [redacted because my mother always said said "if you can't say anything nice, then keep your mouth shut"] dude like Harvey Updyke. Sure, Auburn fans may have rolled the Toomer's Oaks at times we Bama fans would find a little too astute, but they also founded Toomer's for Tuscaloosa. I don't know about you, but I'll never forget the kindness that group of volunteers showed after April 27, 2011.

Alabama fans, Auburn fans--we may be as compatible as oil and water, but we take pride in our state, in our football, in our traditions. You can't argue with that, so Roll Tide... and War Eagle.