I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around it, but I just can’t seem to find the answer as to why people are so obsessed with area high school football?

Whether teams are 1A, 3A or 6A — and by the way, I wonder what ever happened to the rest of the letters — high school football seems to be the crux of a community.

Around the end of August you can feel it in the air. The atmosphere changes, a person’s true personality begins to unravel and parents and their children who used to mingle or hang out with other families for weekend barbecues, suddenly become nemeses during football season.

The local rivalries of Southside versus Selma, Meadowview versus Morgan, or Keith versus Southside have become a tradition in the Selma community.

God forbid I even dare mention the lifelong allegiances to Auburn or Alabama! We’ll save that discussion for a later time.

Some would say America’s game belongs to baseball, but I beg to differ.

It’s just something about screaming fans, officials’ calls, body paint and team paraphernalia and dramatic gyrations and energetic music from bands that make football games unlike any other sport on the planet.

Personally, I feel it’s rare people will remember that last base stolen by a baseball player in the bottom of the ninth inning or that winning goal made by a soccer player during the final seconds of the World Cup (unless of course the player is women’s soccer phenomenon Mia Hamm.)

However, most people remember the player who made that unforgettable touchdown or extra point to win it all for the team. That play will be talked about for weeks.

People who have a love for the game can appreciate the coaches on the sidelines who curse every so often at a wrong play or watch plays intently to see what to improve on, or the quarterback who can rally his team together and motivate them.

Maybe the obsession is being on the edge of your seat to see who will win?

Maybe it’s the trash talking that is the motivational factor?

Maybe the tailgating is what causes the euphoria? Or maybe it’s seeing that pigskin make a pretty, effortless spiral through the air? Whichever the case, no one can deny football on all levels, is here to stay.