Sports are like movies. It doesn’t matter who the actor is unless he/she is playing the character to the T. The movie that connects with people, emotionally and psychologically, runs the most. Just like that, in sports, it doesn’t matter from what country the player is, or what caste he belongs to, what matters is if he/she is connecting to the public. Once that’s done, it hardly takes much to unite them. Sports is one of the many things that connect the people of this world.
Mandela said, and I quote, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” And he was definitely a game-changer for many.
Sports is the only form of reconciliation that I know. And a stadium is one of the many places that encourages all kinds of people to come together and cheer for what they believe in. People come together to share their thoughts, to cheer on the victory, and dwell in the sadness. It’s a form of alliance that they create against the opposition team, which shows that once together they come together for a cause, then they are unbreakable.
The emotions that are present in a stadium on a matchday are immense. Tears, joy, anger, happiness, are like a binding particle, that keeps us all together. Like the sports team, we, the audience, also become one team and forget all about the unnecessary. There are several examples of this happening, like the India-Pakistan cricket match or the football match between Messi and Ronaldo, or our IPL teams. This hasn’t gone unnoticed that whichever country you are from, sports gives you the liberty to choose. It’s all up to you.