Dear Sports,
For everything you have ever given us, thank you.
Thank you for the memories. Growing up we learned joy and anguish because of you. We watched our friends, families and complete strangers bond and scream and celebrate over common ground. We saw success at every level. From youth, elite, amateur, club and country we got the joy of seeing those around us smile as we received a medal. We raised trophies above our heads, some that weighed more than half our body weight. Regardless, we raised them in joy.
Thank you for our parents. They watched the games with us and shared their memories from years past as we sat and listened with wonderment. They shared their love of the sports that we would one day love too. We learned more about them through these moments than any other conversation.
Thank you for our friends. The bonds we shared grew stronger with every minute of action. We rooted against our friends to get under their skin, all the while wanting to see them happy. It was a wave of emotions that brought us together. We will never forget those moments.
From backyard rinks and hoops on the street to organized, competitive sports we played it all. We challenged our siblings, made new friends and learned more about ourselves. you allowed us to grow and be stronger than we ever thought possible.
It wasn’t always perfect. We experienced the lowest feelings of despair. The moment when that final shot hit the net and we looked up and knew we had lost. We were crushed. Crushed not physically, but emotionally and mentally. We fell into the arms of our families as we watched our team, even our country fail. Some have shed tears, others have let out screams of dejection. But we have all felt it. In extreme cases people have taken to the streets and done crazy things. Things they would never do in their regular lives. Yet they do it.
Thank you for the emotions, but also thank you for the lessons we have learned along the way. It’s a privilege of learning lessons that very few organized activities can offer. Learning that teamwork is the basis of success we grew closer. We watched them and mimicked that ideology.
We also learned about determination and hard work. Growing up with that mindset allowed us to succeed in any situation that we were put in. Whether it be school, work or friendships we learned to put our heads down and focus on the task at hand. We might not always get it the first time around but we never gave up. It came from those opportunities. It came from those games.
We could and should thank you for everything., But for now, thank you, and please stay in our lives.