Get Together

by Ryan Krzykowski

There’s a lot to love about sports.  Sports provide opportunities for people to face challenges and overcome obstacles.  Sports help us get off the couch and get/stay in shape.  My favorite though — sports bring people together in a variety of ways. 

Some of our best friends might be those who we played or coached with.  I’ve shared this one before, but one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life is Emmitt Smith’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech, in which he talks about his relationship with Daryl Johnston and the brotherhood they share.  Check it out for yourself.  Watching World Cup games over the past couple weeks, of course with any international event of its kind there are geopolitical issues and controversy, but what really draws me in is the camaraderie and passion of the spectators.  It’s so much fun to watch people having that much fun.  Last weekend, our extended family got together, with 22 people at our house to watch the Chiefs play in Cincinnati.  Let’s just say there isn’t much else that could get that entire group in the same place.  But sports managed to get it done.

Of course, as with anything, there is an ugly side of sports.  It isn’t all great.  At every level, there are problems to be worked on and things we can all do better.  But for all the downside, I’ll take it.  Because there’s nothing in the world that brings together a larger, more diverse group of people, providing so many opportunities for our lives to be intertwined in incredibly meaningful ways.

Let’s Coach With Purpose…