Sports is one of the few things in this world that can bond two completely random strangers together better than any drug can. It’s the one outlet that brings out emotions that most men never would otherwise realize.

As a child, there are a few things that a boy learns to commit to. It starts with his family, who bring and raise him into this world, and then there are his sports teams. There’s no relationship that lasts as long and goes on as strong as that of a man and his sports team. Friends, family, and lovers come and go, the sparks light and fade away–but one’s childhood team and his love for them will always be there in one form or another.

Few other relationships go through as many ups and downs throughout the course of a decade, months, or even minutes. No matter how low a low one may experience, we always know the sun will shine once again.

Sports is a reflection of our history and our present, and will forever survive the test of time. Through two world wars and countless tragedies, you can always count on the athletes to take the field and restore sanity if for just a brief moment of time. No other form of entertainment can claim this, and no other form of entertainment has stood the test of time as sports has.

Racial integration in sports and the acceptance of minorities on the field helped speed the Civil Rights movement faster than anything else.

After the 2nd World War, the players taking the field showed that everything was sane once again.

After 9/11, the football and baseball fields were filled shortly after, uniting fans once and allowing them to ignore the evils that just took place if just for a brief moment in time.

Post Katrina, New Orleans was able to experience normalcy and rally their city and its residents toward a common cause, even if their town was still torn to shreds. It gave people hope and faith in something when it was otherwise lost and abandoned from its leadership.

Come this fall, the Virginia Tech football team will take the field once again. And while the incident that happened some 5 months earlier will forever live in their minds, for those three hours or so the memories will all be suspended in a way that few other outlets can..

To explain one’s love for sports is like explaining love itself. It just isn’t possible to put into words, it’s just something one has to experience for himself.