The football game yesterday was the first night game of the year and I ended up leaving my camera in the car, so I was left with taking photos of the game using my iPhone. I can’t wait to see what kind of camera the iPhone 5 comes with (reportedly it will be a great 8mp sensor), because the more I use my cell phone for actual serious photographic purposes the more I have grown to like it. Sure my Nikon DSLR would have done a better job overall but I was thrilled to have my phone, and not have to lug around a heavy body and lens for once. It also still proves the old adage that the artist is in the person (or the photographer) not in the camera.
Anyway, it ended up being one of the more enjoyable games we have been to this year. We didn’t get sunburned, die from the heat, or stress over the game (though we really don’t do that anyway). We did however get to see several friends around the tailgate areas, like Courtney (see her blog here) seen below with Deborah, and we ended up leaving early enough to get to see the end of the game from home. Normally we would stay but since I had to be at three services and a mission meeting early today, we opted for watching the end at home. By the time the next home game gets here against Florida I will have been to Uganda and back. The Florida game is actually the very next day after I get back from 36 hours of travel from the other side of the world, hopefully I will just be able to stay awake for the game. In the mean time enjoy some iPhoneography below.
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The game this week was another crazy ending that ended with a win by a last play stop that literally came within an inch or two of a Mississippi State score. For those of us who sit in the blasting sun hopefully this will be the last day game until it gets a little cooler.
Next week Auburn goes on the road and so do we. We will be watching Auburn play Clemson from Denver where we will be celebrating the birth of our second grandson. Until then, hope you enjoy some of the photos from the game today. It was a hot day to haul the camera around Jordan-Hare Stadium but I love some of the images from today. I’m always amazed that there is anything original left to produce at a football game but each game is always different. War Eagle.
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This was a crazy crazy game, that almost ended with Auburn getting beat by Utah State. Auburn seems to always make the games exciting and this was certainly no exception. Of course as with every game this time of year it was blasting hot but with a nice breeze from Tropical Storm Lee down in the gulf. It’s really hard to believe that the football season is back in full swing but it is. Time goes by so incredibly fast… it seems like last week we were watching them play Oregon in the national championship game. But, 6-8 months have gone by and the summer is almost over. At least in the end Auburn ended up winning the game, even if it wasn’t pretty. Next week will be a tough game for them.
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I was quite saddened yesterday when I found out (who we now allegedly know as) Harvey Updyke from Dadeville (here on Facebook) had deliberately poisoned the Toomer’s Oaks in Auburn with a Dow Agroscience called Spike 80 DF (PDF of what this chemical is and does) “in retaliation for a 1983 event when Auburn students rolled the trees to celebrate the death of Alabama coaching legend Paul “Bear” Bryant.”
According to the Paul Finebaum show, (audio of caller is here) he had deliberately poisoned the Toomer’s Live Oaks in Auburn some time prior to the January 27th phone call. The OANews is now reporting on Updyke’s arrest, but the reaction across the Internet from Facebook and Twitter has been almost incalculable (see 16,000+ Toomer’s Tree Hug Saturday Ralley on Facebook for starters).
At the time I heard about this I couldn’t think of a more senseless and baseless act of vandalism that could never be punished to the extent of the damaged caused, especially when you count the hundreds of thousands of Auburn fans that love the Toomer’s Live Oaks. But, once again we can see this is nothing new under the sun. This very same thing happened to the University of Texas in Austin to their Treaty Oak in 1989. While I can’t say it’s the same, it makes me wonder if we at Auburn were destined to repeat this history?
I have a special tree here on my property I sit under and read during the summer, and have blogged about over and over again. If someone purposely had killed that tree it would have been quite upsetting. But for Auburn fans, how do you process something like this, the killing of something so special, something that has such key symbolic significance to Auburn itself? Auburn released a statement yesterday, where the president addressed this question.
We will take every step we can to save the Toomer’s oaks, which have been the home of countless celebrations and a symbol of the Auburn spirit for generations of Auburn students, fans, alumni and the community,” said University President Jay Gogue.
Gogue asked members of the Auburn Family to “continue to be ‘All In’ in upholding its reputation for class” and not allow anger to be expressed inappropriately or undeservedly.
“It is understandable to feel outrage in reaction to a malicious act of vandalism,” Gogue said. “However, we should live up to the example we set in becoming national champions and the beliefs expressed in our Auburn Creed. Individuals act alone, not on behalf of anyone or any place, and all universities are vulnerable to and condemn such reprehensible acts.
I know some crazy fan somewhere is not going to take that to heart but the example, rooted in Auburn’s Creed from 1945 says many great things about class and dignity of fellow people. Of course it doesn’t directly address the issue of forgiveness, (mainly because this is a creed for a secular, publicly funded university, not a religious organization) which is really what is needed here. This could be a huge, long, drawn out, post on the sinful nature of man, how we go about showing forgiveness, and why someone would do such a thing, but in the end, we as Christians are called to love one another as Christ loved the church, and this includes Harvey Updyke of Dadeville.
That means forgiving, without malice in our hearts, knowing all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, not just one man but all of us. We are now given the opportunity to show how a forgiving heart acts and reacts when hurt, even if Updyke is not remorseful or repentant himself.
I assume that now here in Auburn anyway, we can move away from the who done it aspect of the trees and focus more on the preservation or the Toomer’s Oaks or what to do if and when they do die. Here are some photos below I took of the Toomer’s Oaks as they sit today, bathed in bright February sunshine, on a gorgeous day in the south.
I will say that these are just trees. Very special trees When I went down to Toomer’s Corner today it was a zoo. The perspective on what happened in some respect has been totally lost. These are beloved trees that symbolize much of what is great about Auburn, but if we could channel this money, effort, and energy into something productive it would be amazing. Just a thought.
Additional current information related to the post above.
- Harvey Updyke’s Facebook Page in PDF
- Screenshot of Harvey Updyke’s Facebook Page
- List of his Facebook Friends in PDF
- Mug shot as listed on OANews
A Few News Reports on the Topic
- Toomer’s Corner tree poisoning a ‘new low’ in rivalry, national media say
- Toomer’s Corner trees poisoning: Auburn working against odds to save 130-year-old live oaks
- Arrest made in Toomer’s Corner poisoning
- Toomer’s Corner trees poisoning: An arrest reported, a sports world appalled at vandalism
- Despite rivalry, many Bama fans sickened by news of Toomer’s Corner poisoned trees
- Toomers Corner explodes in ecstacy with Auburn national championship win
- Toomer’s Corner rolling celebrates victory (in photos)
- The complete Toomer’s Corner files
- Man arrested for poisoning Toomer’s Corner oaks
- Is This The Alleged Toomer’s Corner Tree Poisoner?
- Man arrested in poisoning of oaks at Toomer’s Corner
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Once again we have come to the start of another basketball season here on the Plains, except this year, we have a new coach with Tony Barbee and a brand new arena, the Auburn Arena. Last night they played their last exhibition game against Columbus State, and while it was a great game to watch, Auburn lost with a missed tip-in at the buzzer. It could be a long season but we are still looking forward to each game coming up. The photo of the day was taken from the game last night. War Eagle.
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Auburn vs South Carolina lived up to it’s hype, it was a great game, hard fought until the end, and Auburn came away with a strong win against a very good Gamecocks team. The game was almost an hour later than last week, and being on ESPN lasted almost 4 hours but it was great to watch another close game. Since Jordan-Hare isn’t allowing DSLR cameras into the stadium I didn’t get too many shots this game but here are a few from the tailgate area (or see them on my Flickr gallery).
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Yesterday was one of those games that you just feel lucky to have come out alive and with a win. What a crazy, hot, muggy, long, day/game that was. ESPN Gameday was in town again and I ran down with my nephew to take some shots while the broadcast was going on. The ESPN Gameday set had a thermometer sitting on the stairs, which read 110*F but it actually felt hotter than that. I managed to get some shots of Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and Erin Andrews in-between commercials. Here are a few of the images, you can see more on the Flickr group set called ESPN College Gameday 2010, Auburn vs Clemson.
