Toomer’s Corner
The poisoning of the 130 year old oaks at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn, Alabama was terrible for any number of reasons. As you can tell by the tag cloud in the sidebar, I am a big Alabama fan. However, there is nothing about this that has anything to do with what school you pull for. In fact, I find this to be an affront to what makes college football so great: the traditions.
You know, the night games in Baton Rouge, the Denny Chimes in Tuscaloosa and yes, the rolling of Toomer’s Corner in Auburn. These are examples of what make college football unique to any sport the world over. Once we desecrate one of these traditions, we desecrate them all. Because, really, if you get so riled up at the joy of a rival, you’ve lost perspective.
I’ll admit, ‘Bama’s come-from-ahead loss in the 2010 Iron Bowl was devastating. Even as the Tide demolished Michigan State, I was still smarting from the loss to Auburn. However, this sad episode has helped me put that into perspective. At no point should we be so affected by our team losing, that we’re willing to betray what’s best about us. Those we pull against are still our brothers, sisters and friends.
You could easily make this very same argument for politics, religion or any other “team” of which we are a part. So, let’s make this a wake up call. Albeit, a painful one. Let’s enjoy college football, life, whatever…but, let’s definitely enjoy it.