An NSCer sent me a link to this piece written by Paul Beirne. I'd never come across it otherwise, being buried on LinkedIn, a site I'm not a member of and never use, so I'm guessing a lot of other people wouldn't see it either. So I'm copying and pasting:
I sometimes tell people that I’m not a fan of football, but that I AM a fan of what sporting clubs mean to their communities and how the values of their community is reflected in their clubs.
Of course – I AM a fan of football! But I like to lead the conversation away from the pitch and into the more squishy parts of the game. The parts that can make you cry. The parts that can lift you to euphoria. And the parts that can help you manage your way through grief.
Much has been written about how sports can help a community work through their emotions and can signal that “life goes on”.
These past few weeks in the Sussex region we are a community that is slowly emerging from the devastating crash at the Shoreham Airshow. Eleven people died in that tragedy, and in a community this size everyone is affected. Everyone has some connection to one of the victims, their friends, their family, including everyone in the football family in this region.
A sporting event is always emotional. The coming together of thousands of people to get on the roller coaster together, to sing together, to stand shoulder to shoulder and cheer together, to become upset or disappointed together…these are primal things that connect us all as human beings.
The remarkable thing about tragedy is that it also connects us, and in a strange way it lifts us. While at its core sports is tribal and our tribes are generally against each other, moments like this allow sports to elevate to a different level. We have bitter rivals up the road who have been nothing but supportive and empathetic. We have representatives from other sports who have reached out wondering how they can help. These “moments of truth” are opportunities for people, fans and clubs to show their true colours. And they have not disappointed.
On Saturday at the Amex our fans will come together once again, and will share in a tribute to the victims, their families, and all of our friends and neighbours who have been affected. The families of Matt and Jacob have asked for us to honour the two young men, both footballers, by celebrating their lives in the form of a minute’s applause. This minute will be a very special minute.
Our community will take one big step forward in our collective healing process, together.
I sometimes tell people that I’m not a fan of football, but that I AM a fan of what sporting clubs mean to their communities and how the values of their community is reflected in their clubs.
Of course – I AM a fan of football! But I like to lead the conversation away from the pitch and into the more squishy parts of the game. The parts that can make you cry. The parts that can lift you to euphoria. And the parts that can help you manage your way through grief.
Much has been written about how sports can help a community work through their emotions and can signal that “life goes on”.
These past few weeks in the Sussex region we are a community that is slowly emerging from the devastating crash at the Shoreham Airshow. Eleven people died in that tragedy, and in a community this size everyone is affected. Everyone has some connection to one of the victims, their friends, their family, including everyone in the football family in this region.
A sporting event is always emotional. The coming together of thousands of people to get on the roller coaster together, to sing together, to stand shoulder to shoulder and cheer together, to become upset or disappointed together…these are primal things that connect us all as human beings.
The remarkable thing about tragedy is that it also connects us, and in a strange way it lifts us. While at its core sports is tribal and our tribes are generally against each other, moments like this allow sports to elevate to a different level. We have bitter rivals up the road who have been nothing but supportive and empathetic. We have representatives from other sports who have reached out wondering how they can help. These “moments of truth” are opportunities for people, fans and clubs to show their true colours. And they have not disappointed.
On Saturday at the Amex our fans will come together once again, and will share in a tribute to the victims, their families, and all of our friends and neighbours who have been affected. The families of Matt and Jacob have asked for us to honour the two young men, both footballers, by celebrating their lives in the form of a minute’s applause. This minute will be a very special minute.
Our community will take one big step forward in our collective healing process, together.
