BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)–In churches across the state of Alabama, a battle rages. Congregations are split. Relationships are strained. Even welcome choruses are tense. Pastors from Mobile to Huntsville are waving peace flags. The problem is, they’re all being asked the same question: “Pastor, is that flag crimson and white or orange and blue?”
Red, white or blue, it’s true. For years, the Alabama/Auburn rivalry has been a source of lively — at times intense — discussion among church congregations. Even pulpiteers have been known to rouse the debate. Take this quote from Wayne Atcheson, associate director of Tide Pride (the football donor program at the University of Alabama): “The Alabama/Auburn game is not a matter of life and death,” he once told a church. “It’s more serious than that.”
Read more of Ashley Michael’s column at BPSports, www.bpsports.net.
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