The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

SMUs Tyreek Smith dunks as the Mustangs run up the scoreboard against Memphis in Moody Coliseum.
SMU finds new head coach for men’s basketball
Brian Richardson, Contributor • March 28, 2024
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Inspiration emerges from Louisville tragedy

The+Louisville++basketball+team+gathered+around+after+witnessing+Ware%E2%80%99s+injury.
Courtesy of AP
The Louisville basketball team gathered around after witnessing Ware’s injury.

The Louisville basketball team gathered around after witnessing Ware’s injury. (Courtesy of AP)

For those who know little about sports, forget everything you think you know about sports fans.

You probably think we enjoy watching sports simply for what they are on the surface – a game.

That’s obvious. No one will deny that watching superior athletes collide and test their abilities against each other is fun.

However, it doesn’t end there. Our love for sports runs deeper than that.

We watch sports to root for the Florida Gulf Coasts of the world. We love to see that real genuine human struggle against insurmountable odds. The outcome is unimportant, but it’s the fight that we love. It’s not surrendering and never say die. It inspires us and motivates us to keep pushing through in our own lives.

When Louisville’s Kevin Ware’s leg gave out in front of thousands on Sunday, we did not witness a tragedy. We witnessed one of the greatest testimonies of why sports are great.

Emotions are never higher in College basketball than during March Madness. It’s a single elimination tournament and the competition is fierce and players want to win more than anything.

Ware goes down. So do his teammates. They burst into tears. So do the stands. Everyone cries – even the other team.

In that moment, no one cared about the game anymore. It was all about the struggles that now lay ahead of Ware.

What makes this a great moment for sports is the out pouring of support Ware received after his injury. Charles Barkley called him, then Dwight Howard. He was visited by NCAA President Mark Emmert and received tweets from Rajon Rondo, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.

In what was probably the scariest moment of his life, Ware found it within himself to tell his team to go out and win the game.

They of course, did just that. Louisville is now the emotional favorite to win it all. As grim as the situation is regarding Ware’s leg, it provides the sports nation with a rallying point.

The thing that makes sports have the unique ability to turn moments of tragedy into moments of great triumph.

Follow me on twitter for more sports opinions @demo36.  

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