Why do I love sports? Yes, they are fun. Yes, they lead us to reach beyond our limits. And yes, they teach us teamwork, determination, and camaraderie.
But all you have to do is watch how Major League Baseball has rallied around the city of Boston to see that sports brings us together. It reminds us that, whether we are Royals fans or Cardinals fans, whether we wear the Cardinal and Black or the Kelly Green and White, whether we cheer for the Red Sox or the Yankees, we are Americans and we stick together.
To me sports is Jack Buck saying "Yes" we should play ball after 9-11. It is Neil Diamond flying all the way from California to sing "Sweet Caroline", Boston's trademark song, as the Royals and Red Sox squared off Saturday afternoon. It is exhausted marathoners rushing to the aid of spectators as they lay stunned and bleeding after a senseless act of violence at the classic race.
We often are slaves to our traditions, but I believe one of the smartest moves MLB made was when they ditched the classic "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch and replacing it with "God Bless America." We have a lot of problems in this world, and sports has its share of issues. But at its core, it is a father and sun playing catch, a mother teaching her daughter to swim, and grandfather telling his heirs stories of Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson.
So play on, America, play on! It's who we are and it's what keeps us going strong!
Well said Joe Moore!
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