Auburn University cuts down iconic oaks after poisoning

By Ben Brumfield and Phil Gast, CNN

(CNN) – Two years of rescue efforts could not save them. So, Tuesday, Auburn University cut down two iconic trees that a disappointed fan of its intrastate rival poisoned after his team lost a game to Auburn.

The landmark live oaks, used for celebrations by fans, who rolled them with toilet paper after big victories, were more than 130 years old. On Tuesday, they were coming down branch by branch from the campus gathering place, Toomer’s Corner.

Local television news cameras broadcast the removal live.

“While it is sad, it will do nothing to change the spirit of Auburn,” Auburn junior Carlee Clark told CNN iReport Tuesday, as the trees came down. “I think I speak for students and alumni alike when I say that I count it a privilege to be a part of this family, and the presence or absence of two trees could never alter that.”

In 2010, both the Auburn Tigers and the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football teams were nationally ranked.

On November 26, Auburn, playing at UA in Tuscaloosa for the annual Iron Bowl, came back from a huge deficit to squeak past the Tide by a point, beating its tough sibling 28-27 on its home field.

Man pleads guilty in poisoning of famous Auburn trees

Revenge for a loss

Tide fan Harvey Updyke didn’t like losing and did something about it, which he confessed anonymously two months later on a UA sports radio show. He called in as “Al from Dadeville.”

“Let me tell you what I did the weekend after the Iron Bowl. I went to Auburn, Alabama, because I live 30 miles away,” the caller said. “And I poisoned the two Toomer’s trees.”

He ended the call with “Roll Damn Tide,” a battle cry for the University of Alabama.

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