Last week the world lost another gem in the form of Nelson Mandela. We are all familiar with his great accomplishments and the major part he played in dismantling the legacy of apartheid in South Africa which aided the country to move forward from a very dark time.
I was aware of Mr. Mandela’s political accomplishments and the way he went about in achieving it, but was not aware of how he used sports to bring his country together. One of the most famous instances was his 1995 Rugby World Cup final appearance wearing the Springboks Jersey which symbolized
nothing but harmony and equality (If anyone is interested, the movie, Invictus portrays this scene beautifully).
This gesture of Mr. Mandela got me thinking, are there any other sports instances that has brought a whole country together?
If I were to pick one from my recent memory, I would have to go with the World Series played between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks after the September 11 attacks. I am by no means a baseball fan, but know for a fact that everyone around the country (I would guess, besides the Diamondbacks’ fans) were rooting for the Yankees to win just so a little relief and joy can be achieved by a city that was hurting so much.
I look forward to reading some other instances of similar nature.
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