On Friday children flooded the playground area of Church Street United Methodist Church at recess for Leika’s School. The children were dressed ­— some head-to-toe — with Auburn University and Alabama gear. Girls wore cheerleading outfits while the boys sported their favorite jerseys.

With all the hype each year about Alabama versus Auburn, it may come as a surprise that one Leika teacher, Mary Drue Wheeler, said that the children got along just fine and did not argue at all about who was wearing what. This is reflective of our city.

When looking out and surveying Selma and Dallas County the playing field, number wise, is pretty even between Auburn and Alabama fans. There seems to be an equal amount of fans and healthy rivalry between both.

As networks like ESPN continue to report on how deep and how viscous this rivalry is, Selmians just stay in polite disagreement about their favorite team.

That rivalry they portray on TV is very true, but in Selma there is a different and more family-friendly air to the Iron Bowl that is less aggressive than if you were to visit a college town.

All around town you can hear “War Eagle,” or “Roll Tide,” on Saturdays and there are many houses that are divided.

But one thing that keeps us all together is our love for football, love for Selma and passion for the state of Alabama.