For those of us who played them, they're everything. They are the driving force, they are the inspiration to be great, they are our art form, they are the air we breathe.
We love playing our sport. We love the rush. We love the victory that comes from hard work. We love the need to be apart of something greater than ourselves.
We sometimes don't like the players who get too aggressive. We don't like those ref's who (in my opinion) make just horrible calls. We don't like to let a team down. We don't like failure.
To us, sports is a love story. The story of a kid who saw a big brother or sister, or maybe a famous athlete, and wanted to be like them. The kid who eventually found their something that made them stand out, the kid who fell in love with every aspect of the game. The kid who fell so hard, they stayed after every practice just to have a little more time to develop their skill. The kid who saw nothing other than passion when it came to the sport. The kid who gave up weekends with friends to attend tournaments states away to pursue a victory. The kid who put it all on the line for the love of the game.
It is also a story of heartbreak. In sports, you realize that not all dreams come true. You learn that you are not better than everyone. You learn that sometimes your good will not be good enough. You learn that sometimes you can be so close to achieving a skill or win, but to no avail, you won't get there. You face reality.
Sports are also, truly, the best medicine. They are there for you through thick and thin. They can be the source where you let your anger out. They are a place where you leave it all out there. They are a source of a zen-like calm. They are the place where you find out who you really are.
They can also lead to the best friends you will ever find. A place where you find your second family. The place where you would rather be than home. The people who you would lay your life on the line for, because if it were not for this sport, you probably would have never met them.
To me, my whole life has been a series of love letters to sports. Some good, some bad. A place where blood, sweat, and tears have been poured into the game. A life full of memories that I would never take back. I owe my life to the 17+ years I have given to sports. I chose to dedicate my life to the game, and don't regret a second of it.
So cheers to the game that made me into the person I am, I would have never gotten to the place I am at without you.
