On Friday, a professional baseball team will begin play here. The team will play its home games at Selma’s Bloch Park, and the team may even feature a couple of local baseball players.

The baseball team, called the Cloverleafs, will add to our city the minute it begins playing. Having professional sports in a town is considered a luxury of sorts when it comes to entertainment. That’s why cities throw millions of dollars at big league pro teams in hopes luring those teams.

Getting the Cloverleafs will not mean a financial boon to the city. But it is a small piece of the quality-of-life puzzle. When added to existing amenities, it makes our town even more inviting.

Having pro sports can help build a city’s identity. When the Cloverleafs go on the road to play in Pensacola, Fla., Americus. Ga., or even Montgomery, they are keeping Selma’s name top-of-mind in those places.

The baseball team can also create unique entertainment and recreational opportunities. The Cloverleafs have the ability to reach out to all segments of the Selma community and welcome everyone into the stadium. The Cloverleaf games can be a place where everyone in Selma feels welcomed and is entertained.

So often we seek progress and we seek opportunity. On Friday – the season-opener for the Cloverleafs – a new opportunity will have arrived.

If we really want to see the progress and want better things, we as a community need to get alout and support this basebl team and let it entertain us.