Uniting in a common goal
By now we all know about Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s story. Hamlin needed to be resuscitated on the field after a play. He hit another player while making a tackle. The play was like many others that occur in games every week. It wasn’t a cheap hit. It fell within the rules. The consequences were most unfortunate though.
Luckily, the medical professionals on scene for the game were able to act quickly and professionally and were able to provide care that is credited with saving Hamlin’s life.
In the days following the incident, people around the country followed the story. There was a tremendous outpouring of love and concern for Hamlin.
The people of Cincinnati, where the game was being played, put aside team loyalty to their Bengals and showed true compassion for Hamlin. Fans love their teams and villainize the opponents, but this is different. No fan wants to see a player almost lose their life. A memorial was created outside the hospital and Hamlin’s charity that provides toys to underprivileged children saw a huge uptick in donations.
The response from players around the NFL, and from other sports, was swift and of one voice. Everyone was hoping for the best. It hit his fellow NFL players hard as they realized it could have been them lying on that field.
The NFL suspended, and ultimately canceled, the game, which required they make special provisions, as the game had playoff implications.
Hamlin is back in Buffalo and seems on the road to recovery. You can hear the national sigh of relief. The NFL has resumed play and the playoffs begin this weekend, with the Bills in them. NFL life is slowly returning to normal. The Bills’ players seeming to gain strength, both physical and emotional, from their team as Hamlin fights to recover. His first question to the doctors when he could speak was, “Did we win?”
This is the latest example of sports acting as a mechanism to unite people. This was a tragedy; luckily, one that seems to be heading towards a positive conclusion. We have seen other examples of sports uniting Americans of all stripes around a common cause. After the events of 9/11, baseball helped to ease the pain of that tragedy and assisted in our return to “normalcy.” It did the same in the Bay Area after the devastating 1989 earthquake.
More importantly, we see it every day, but probably don’t even realize it.
Go to any sporting event and you will see people of many different types. They are there in support of the same thing: Rooting for their team. They share in the triumphs and the disappointments together.
Look at the national pride with the 1980 Men’s Olympic hockey team or the U.S. men’s and women’s soccer teams in their respective World Cups. Just this week, Georgians of every color, religion, and economic level came together to root the Bulldogs on to their latest national championship.
Sports can be a healer of our divides. We shouldn’t underestimate its social impact. In fact, we should embrace it. Anything that brings our society closer together should be lauded.