A way to cope

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Sports build a sense of community, in times of tragedy and triumph.

We saw it a few months ago with the Boston Marathon bombings. Across the country, baseball teams mimicked the Red Sox’s infamous sing-a-long of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Even the pinstripe faithful did its rendition in the Bronx.

People injured in the bombings threw out first pitches, dropped the puck at hockey games, and people all over got together and went for runs to honor the victims of the bombings.

In the Midwest, as some of the deadliest tornadoes tore through Oklahoma, sports helped the community — and the country — join together and carry Oklahomans through tough times.

Los Angeles star Matt Kemp pledged to donate $1,000 for every home run he hits until the All-Star break for disaster relief efforts in Oklahoma.

Kevin Durant, one of the NBA’s stars who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder, donated $1 million. Then, special KD V Elites basketball shoes were designed, and the sales profits will also be donated.

Sports also build community through common memories. Over the weekend, the New York Mets celebrated the one-year anniversary of Johan Santana’s no-hitter — the first in the franchise’s history. It brought back memories from last summer, when I was watching the game on an iPhone with my parents. (My dad has been a Mets fan since he was a kid.)

After posting a column I wrote a year ago on Facebook recently, a family friend commented that the Santana no-hitter was one of the last things he remembers talking to his one of his brothers about before he had died.

And so, whether you root for the Gators or the Seminoles, the Red Sox or the Yankees — sports are most important for their ability to bring people together and, in times of tragedy, to help people cope. Despite the steroids, the scandals and the childishness of some high-paid athletes, I'm grateful that sports will always be there.