Auburn University planted two new oak trees at famed Toomer's Corner near campus on Saturday, revitalizing a school tradition.  The trees replace two 80-year-old trees that had been poisoned by a crazed Alabama Crimson Tide fan four years ago. Edward Aschoff of ESPN reported that hundreds of blue and orange-clad fans welcomed the new 35-foot trees, resembling an Auburn football Game Day atmosphere in February.

The Auburn Tigers official Twitter showed the scene:

It had been two years since the original trees at Toomer's Corner had to be removed.  It was shortly after the 2010 BCS Championship game (in January 2011) had been won by the Auburn Tigers that an Alabama fan out of delusion and anger dispersed poison around the original Toomer's Oaks trees roots.  Despite heroic efforts to save the traditional icons, they were eventually deemed unrecoverable and permanently removed in April 2013.

It is at Toomer's Corner where fans gather after Auburn football (and other) victories to "roll" the trees with toilet paper.  Note that because of the delicate state of the new trees as they take root in their new home, Tigers fans are asked to refrain from rolling the trees until at least the 2016 season.  Auburn fans will gladly oblige.  They are just glad that one rotten egg from a rival school could not ruin their school spirit.

It took five hours to install the trees at a cost of nearly $1,000,000. We're sure private donors more than took care of that expense.  Perhaps a fine should be levied on the perpetrator of the poisoning.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Dave Whitlock
I'm a huge sports fan, particularly liking to focus on the stuff between the lines instead of the off-the-field issues. A big MLB fan (Houston Astros) and college football fan (Texas Longhorns), I also love the diversity of all sports (like Tour De France, Horse Racing, NHL, NFL, you name it). I particularly love the interactions with other sports fans on Twitter. I try to live by the mantra "a bad day at the ballpark is better than a good day anywhere else."