Today I saw a team that had every reason to roll over and quit steadfastly and unanimously refuse to do so. And I saw them rewarded with an unimaginable triumph on the world’s greatest stage.
Today I saw a bench player step up to provide an inch-perfect delivery on the game’s transcendent play. I saw the star player receiving said pass erase myriad recent frustrations with a conversion in the most dire of circumstances. I saw a star-crossed athlete make the play of the game, then have it cruelly taken away, only to clinch victory by making virtually the same play again.
Today I saw a team wear patches of the United States of America over their hearts and channel the unflinching fire and determination that have marked this country since its earliest days.
Today I saw twenty thousand impartial observers rise in unison to support a team who deserved better than it was getting on the field.
Today I shared an indelible moment with my three year old daughter, yelling and jumping and dancing with her after a miraculous 122nd-minute goal – and again nine penalty kicks later, the last of which she watched with wide eyes and an eager grin after I prefaced it with, “If she makes this goal, we win.”
Today I recognized that only sports can reduce us to the pure, unbridled joy that is so frequently and innocently embraced by our children.
Today I participated in something magical, sublime, and unscripted, even though I was half a world away and had absolutely no rational expectation that I could possibly influence the outcome.
Today I saw a team exhibit the best of the competitive human spirit, and do so, in some miniscule part, on my behalf.
Today I saw sports perfectly embody the metaphor for life that it so often promises to be.
Today was a great day.
Good for you Zach. It's these indelible moments that start us on some of our prolific journeys through sports. I remember, what-12 years ago, watching the Women's team capture the American people's fascination with Mia Hamm and the Brandi Chastain shot. This may be where your daughter learns to love the game, the competition, the meaning of not just a team, a country's team. It's a defining moment. It's a moment that can be turned into a lifetime for some. It is redemption that makes sports so addictive. We all crave experiencing - watching those moments because it creates the kind of good vibes and feeling that are difficult to put into eloquent words (at least for me). That brings me to the obvious. Everyone here knows about all the story lines for possible redemption, that there is no reason for me to rehash them all over again. That game at least reminded me in the purest way why I am such a sport-aholic and why I am so addicted to the teams I love despite often trudging through the daily grind of cynicism and despair (at least in the world of sports). We all keep coming back because deep in the back of our minds - at least in some of our minds - we know there is a genuine opportunity for redemption. When those moments happen, we are going to feel the same warm glow you felt yesterday. Affects us for a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Zach. I watched the match with my Dad too. We were jumping, yelling, and high-fiving at the very moments that you, Anna, and thousands of other father-child pairs were doing the same. A great day indeed. Thank you for the post.
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