AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — A steady stream of people are mourning the apparent imminent demise of the poisoned oak trees at Toomer’s Corner, where Auburn fans traditionally celebrate wins.
The crowd of old and young alike, many clad in orange and blue, began arriving early Saturday morning for the rally dubbed “Toomer’s Tree Hug.”
Alabama fan Harvey Updyke Jr. has been charged with first-degree criminal mischief for allegedly using a tree-destroying herbicide to poison the two 130-year-old oaks after Auburn beat the Crimson Tide in December.
Even devout Alabama fans have pilloried the heinous act that has taken a bitter, state-encompassing rivalry too far. Alabama student Sean Phillips, wearing a crimson-and-white Mark Ingram jersey, says it “a really sad day for Alabama as a whole.”
