On Saturday afternoon, 7-year-old Julia Ladd, a second-grader at New Hope Elementary, surprised her maroon-and-white family in the middle of the a Auburn-Mississippi State game when she said these words: "Go Auburn!"
It wasn't a sign of rebellion. She was trying to help out a lone Auburn fan in the middle of a section distinctly swayed toward the Bulldogs.
Julia's father, Breck Ladd, senior pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Columbus, described what happened with Auburn fan Reggie Saxton of Meridian on a Facebook post:
"... he sat there calm and loyal to his Auburn Tigers. He never responded to the guys in front of him shaking their cow bells in his direction. He just smiled when the guy next to him offered him his cow bell so he could have something to cheer about as we entered the second quarter. Just a part of the game, right? Just for the record, no one was hateful, used inappropriate language, or went 'over the top.' But, the ribbing continued as we rolled right into the second half.
"The momentum began to make a turn. He would simply clap for his team - no yelling, no fist pumping, nothing but a clap. It was during that third quarter when many State fans began to wonder if this game would end in our favor. On one of those big plays for Auburn as the stadium went silent, you could hear his clap, and the roar of a "Go Auburn!" Except the roar was coming from little Julia! Really it was a sweet, innocent, multi-syllable (as only little Southern girls can say it) kind of cheer. She quickly received a rebuke as any good State parent would do! 'Julia, we root for the Bulldogs and not Auburn.' She put her head down and was crushed. Something just didn't seem right. We asked her why she had screamed that phrase. She said, 'That man is all alone. It makes me sad.'
'Our hearts melted. She was oblivious to the score on the scoreboard. She just knew he wasn't cheering that much. She was keenly aware of the score that mattered. We took her down to his seat and told him what had happened. He agreed to a photo. The rest of the evening Julia kept a watchful eye on her new friend. For him, and with absolutely no disrespect, we say, 'War Eagle!' Once again, our children have taught us much. Julia, thank you for reminding Daddy that all people are special and loved by our heavenly Father and, thus, should be loved by us."
Saxton, 42, said there were "one or two" other fans in the section, "and we were pretty far apart. And we were quiet for the most part."
He said that he was surprised at first when he was asked to have his photo taken with Julia.
"They were two seats behind me and it was kind of surprising at first," said Saxton, who was born and raised in Montgomery and an Auburn fan since the days of Bo Jackson. "... But that's what the sport is all about, just enjoying the game with all the fans."
Ladd said he was working later Saturday on his sermon for Sunday, "No 'I' in Team," and realized that this fit perfectly with the message. He also felt compelled to write the Facebook post because he was moved by what Julia did.
"The moment was bigger than the event itself," said Ladd.
The post has become popular, more than Ladd thought it would. Many people reached out to him, including Kristi Malzahn, wife of Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.
As for Julia, she received some personal recognition on Sunday at church from those who read her father's post.
"She is really very bashful and is nervous that (Mississippi State) Coach (Dan) Mullen and (quarterback) Dak (Prescott) might find out," Ladd said. "I think they will be all right with it this time, though."
