Sports in general claim a piece of one’s soul. Fans follow, root and live for the moments their chosen team creates. When those moments go tragic, a part of every one of us experiences the pain.
Perhaps the biggest week in the history of Brazilian club Chapecoense turned tragic as the team’s plane crashed in the mountains of Colombia. The team was in route to Medellin, Colombia for the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana championship.
This was a dream season for the Brazilian club. They had fought to return to the Brazilian top flight, and taken on the role of beloved underdog. Reaching the Sudamericana finals was proving to everyone how far they had come.
The crash has brought about messages of condolences and prayers from around the soccer world. Several teams planned moments of silence and other means of honoring the fallen players, journalists and others lost in the crash.
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The Chapecoense tragedy touches all of us in someway when we hear the news. For fans of Manchester United, it may bring back memories of the 1958 airplane crash in Munich. Fans of other sports may liken it to the 1970 Marshall college football team tragedy or the 1977 Evansville basketball team airplane crash.
No matter the sport one roots for, we all understand loss. Whether the team or players were familiar to you or not, it is easy to relate to those affected. It is in these moments of tragedy that the sporting communities become one, even if for a brief amount on time.
Sports in general claim a piece of one’s soul. Fans follow, root and live for the moments their chosen team creates. When those moments go tragic, a part of every one of us experiences the pain. We share the pain because the beautiful game is a common denominator for all of us. It brings us together as few things can.
Like most, this writer knew little to nothing of Chapecoense, its players, its fans or the city it calls home. That all changed this morning as I poured through the tragic news, and the stories of the departed touched my heart and my soul. The loss of life is a sobering event, even when you have no personal connection to the departed.
The world of football and its fans are reaching out to the Brazilian club in many ways to help ease the pain. They will continue to do so in the coming days and weeks. It is what the football family does in moments like these.