Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here) - old

[AUDub]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

I respect you and your program. You especially. But sir, this isn't correct. Your own horticulture department disagreed with you years before anyone had ever heard of Updyke. I don't make excuses for him. He finished the job, and it was a crime; the low point in a rivalry of low points,

There's little disagreement, even among Auburn fans, that the trees were entering their twilight years. They were old given their location and treatment. But the key term here is years. This wasn't an imminent death within weeks or months scenario. They would still be alive today.

one of which was fans of your program rolling the trees because Bama lost the game last week.

The trees have been rolled following your losses several times in the past, but this is the time it fires y'all up. You're overreacting.

Sorry, but this is in no way equivalent to outright destroying a landmark. For comparison, I'd say damaging Denny Chimes or one of your statues would be equivalent.

But years of pressure washing and the agricultural fact that the trees don't belong in this zone had a years-long head start. And no amount of your trying to place sole blame on a loon will change that.

Don't lay blame on an idiot that spitefully, irresponsibly, and over a danged football game dumped a dose of poison on our campus that was lethal to those trees several times over and directly killed them? Whatever.

 

[AUDub]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

I have stated my opinion before, that had he been from the state of Alabama while growing up he would have had a different respect for Auburn and the trees.
He gained an unhealthy fixation of Coach Bryant being his long lost father. This while growing up in Texas.
I went to school, church and played pee-wee ball with good friends that were always Auburn fans. Updyke is every teams illegitimate nightmare fan.

I don't blame y'all for Updyke. It wouldn't be fair. Just because that loon latched on to your team doesn't at all mean he's in any way representative of your program or fanbase.

 

[edwd58]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

As I posted in another recent thread and stand by today, as evidenced by so much of the above, "it has to suck being an auburn fan, just has to..."

 

[AUDub]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

As I posted in another recent thread and stand by today, as evidenced by so much of the above, "it has to suck being an auburn fan, just has to..."

It's been a rollercoaster ride for the last few years, but it never sucks.

 

[NationalTitles18]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

S.N.A.S.S.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Sorry, but this is in no way equivalent to outright destroying a landmark. For comparison, I'd say damaging Denny Chimes or one of your statues would be equivalent.

Except that Bama fans haven't been slowly destroying their landmarks over the years. The Toomer's Corner trees have been power washed, seen their roots cut, and set on fire by Auburn fans. No serious person is defending that jackarse Updyke. However, that many Auburn fans act like the trees were revered is silly. I don't revere something by throwing toilet paper on it and slowly killing it. It's hard to take a tradition like that seriously. (Flying the eagle before the game is really cool IMO. TPing the trees? Not at all.)

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Look, guys, Harvey Updyke poisoned the trees. Yes, they would have died before their time anyway. But that's irrelevant.

At an entirely different level of gravity, suppose your loved one is diagnosed with terminal cancer. On the way home from the diagnosis, a drunk driver hits and kills her. Are you going to say, "No harm, bro. She was going down anyway."

I don't think so.

For the record, I'm NOT equating the loss of human life to the loss of two trees. I'm saying that the stated logic is exactly parallel, at a much lower level of importance.

AUDub, unlike a lot of barn fans, isn't extrapolating Updyke as being representative of all Alabama fans. Quite the opposite.

Call Harvey Updyke what he is -- a misguided guy who committed an indefensible act, the symbolism of which is far greater than the nominal act itself. No mitigants. No, "Yeah, but..." No nothing.

 

[seebell]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

UpDyke killed the trees. They may have had a terminal illness, but he killed them.

What's the problem with AUDub expressing his opinion? He usually makes good sense IMHO.

 

[Elefantman]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Got to love the off season.. DT_ht:

 

[Displaced Bama Fan]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Can we agree that Updyke is an idiot and an embarrassment and did in fact poison the trees, hastening their already demise?

 

[GP for Bama]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

I agree

 

[PitMaster]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

au has replaced the trees

Are they going to be able to replace the OC?

 

[AUDub]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Except that Bama fans haven't been slowly destroying their landmarks over the years. The Toomer's Corner trees have been power washed, seen their roots cut, and set on fire by Auburn fans. No serious person is defending that jackarse Updyke. However, that many Auburn fans act like the trees were revered is silly. I don't revere something by throwing toilet paper on it and slowly killing it. It's hard to take a tradition like that seriously. (Flying the eagle before the game is really cool IMO. TPing the trees? Not at all.)

I don't expect you expect you to get it or think it's cool. It's a fun thing, a bit of revelry, Auburn people do together. It's fine that you don't think much of it. You're not an Auburn fan and I would never expect you to anyway. And at least we can say we're not the only ones that see what's so great about it.

All of us remember the first time we got to roll Toomer's. For me, it was the '97 Iron Bowl. In 2015 I turned my daughters loose with a few rolls for their first go at it. Unfortunately they had to roll wires (thanks, Harvey), but we made up for it this past season.

 

[AUDub]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Can we agree that Updyke is an idiot and an embarrassment and did in fact poison the trees, hastening their already demise?

At this point I'd prefer to just let the misguided old coot alone. He's never going to be repair the damage he did. 6 years of what his life has been since that time are more than enough punishment. Blood from a turnip and all that.

 

[NationalTitles18]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

UpDyke killed the trees. They may have had a terminal illness, but he killed them.

What's the problem with AUDub expressing his opinion? He usually makes good sense IMHO.

Since you asked...Nothing, but my Momma has always told me that sometimes it isn't what you say but how you say it. My problem with what he said in this thread was that he twisted some statements into a straw man and then cast the straw man down as idiocy, thereby implying those posters are idiots. Even a well respected moderator as recently as a day or two ago pointed out how they were harming their trees well before Updyke showed up in Alabama and he equated similar statements to defending/minimizing and the aforementioned idiocy. I've seen some "rival" posters make some impassioned arguments. I haven't seen them go that far with it for very long. Maybe he wasn't entirely clear and maybe I read too much into it. Maybe not.

That, for starters, is the problem I have with it. But I do admit to never liking him as a poster 90% of the time anyway and that my reading may be unfairly biased because of it. He seems like a great guy in real life, but I don't always see him that way as a poster here(though sometimes he is).

 

[PitMaster]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Any news on the new au OC?

 

[Bodhisattva]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Look, guys, Harvey Updyke poisoned the trees. Yes, they would have died before their time anyway. But that's irrelevant.

At an entirely different level of gravity, suppose your loved one is diagnosed with terminal cancer. On the way home from the diagnosis, a drunk driver hits and kills her. Are you going to say, "No harm, bro. She was going down anyway."

I don't think so.

For the record, I'm NOT equating the loss of human life to the loss of two trees. I'm saying that the stated logic is exactly parallel, at a much lower level of importance.

AUDub, unlike a lot of barn fans, isn't extrapolating Updyke as being representative of all Alabama fans. Quite the opposite.

Call Harvey Updyke what he is -- a misguided guy who committed an indefensible act, the symbolism of which is far greater than the nominal act itself. No mitigants. No, "Yeah, but..." No nothing.

Yes, Harvey killed the trees. But, I don't think the actions of the Auburn faithful beforehand are irrelevant. Your analogy is off a bit, and that makes a big difference. Instead of cancer (which would be like the trees suffering from a beetle infestation or a killer fungus), say you've stabbed your wife and she is slowly bleeding out. Then Harvey comes along and shots her dead. Harvey killed her. But, if you then went before the world wailing how much you loved your wife and blaming Alabama for destroying your marriage ..... I'm not buying.

I don't expect you expect you to get it or think it's cool. It's a fun thing, a bit of revelry, Auburn people do together. It's fine that you don't think much of it. You're not an Auburn fan and I would never expect you to anyway. And at least we can say we're not the only ones that see what's so great about it.

All of us remember the first time we got to roll Toomer's. For me, it was the '97 Iron Bowl. In 2015 I turned my daughters loose with a few rolls for their first go at it. Unfortunately they had to roll wires (thanks, Harvey), but we made up for it this past season.

Yeah, I get it; it's revelry for those who really like toilet paper. It's also an activity that is wasteful and destructive. When discussing college football with non-SEC fans, I'm often asked why Auburn fans celebrate by vandalizing their own property.

 

[Crimson1967]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

I will say the tree rolling isn't near as stupid as burning couches.


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[AUDub]

Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

Yes, Harvey killed the trees. But, I don't think the actions of the Auburn faithful beforehand are irrelevant. Your analogy is off a bit, and that makes a big difference. Instead of cancer (which would be like the trees suffering from a beetle infestation or a killer fungus), say you've stabbed your wife and she is slowly bleeding out. Then Harvey comes along and shots her dead. Harvey killed her. But, if you then went before the world wailing how much you loved your wife and blaming Alabama for destroying your marriage ..... I'm not buying.

We can hardly be blamed for the fact that a city sprung up around them, making things difficult for their root systems, they did very well to adapt to the ag zone in which they were located, and were just starting to realize what kind of punishment they were taking from the rolling. Your analogy is pretty bad.

Have you read the pathologist's report on the trees? The one that comes up seemingly any time this topic is discussed here? Yes, he gave a range. Anywhere from half a decade to a century. Things are still kicking, even after they were poisoned, I think it's fairly obvious that his low end prediction was emphatically wrong. The trees live in pretty poor condition with the power washing, but you can tell that year in and year out leaves kept coming right back until this happened. Truth is, no one really knew if the trees were going to die in a hurry. Anybody that says they do is lying. There was certainly a lot of speculation that they may die, so everything known within a world class agricultural school was being done to keep the trees around and it very well could have been successful.

You do yourself a disservice by trying to minimize just how heinous this moron's actions were.

Yeah, I get it; it's revelry for those who really like toilet paper. It's also an activity that is wasteful and destructive. When discussing college football with non-SEC fans, I'm often asked why Auburn fans celebrate by vandalizing their own property.

Statements like this are a good indicator that you do not. In fact, it makes one wonder if you even have a sentimental bone in your body.

And do you really want to go down the rabbit hole of national perspective of our respective fanbases?

 

[AlexanderFan]

Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)

In before it closes.

Most of us are well aware of the ticker tape origins of rolling the corner trees, thus signifying an Auburn victory, even you have to admit that the current event is a far cry from that and ironically cleaning up from the current practice is far more taxing on the trees than the original practice.



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