Dynamo/Dash Delivery: Re-Learning What’s Important

Out of every bad thing comes something good. Like it or not, in the reality of our world, good will come out of the pandemic known as COVID-19. The virus has shut down nearly the entire country and the world, taking away many of the things most precious to Americans, including our sports fix.

For the Houston Dynamo, the shutdown came on the heels of a 4-0 road dismantling at Kansas City. The shutdown, though, created a moment for players and fans, as well as coaches alike, to take a deep breath and focus on what’s really important. Win, lose or in the case of soccer, draw, the world goes on and now many are just glad that life does go on.

I like sports just as much as the next guy, maybe more. I love winning more than most. As a former athlete, no matter what it is losing sucks. Losing makes us all appreciate even more what we actually have, and maybe that’s why it is so painful not just for fans but for players and coaches and organizations. Because of this virus, we have an opportunity to see our athletes, our Dynamo and Dash players as human beings. Just like us, they put their pants on one leg at a time and just like us they have feelings and emotions. When these players next take the pitch and do not live up to our expectations, stop before you begin to call for their heads on a silver platter and ask yourself; Am I willing to endure the abuse I am about to subject them to if I were good enough to trade places with them? How would I feel if I heard the boos, the slurs and the disgust someone felt in my performance especially when I know I have done my best?

If the virus has taught us one thing, it’s that life is about human interaction. It’s about relationships. It’s about people coming together for one another. Yes, we are going to be disappointed in performances and outcomes of games but life will go on. Yes, we want our teams to do well but when they don’t life will go on. One day in the not to distant future, we will walk through the turnstiles into a sporting event and win, lose or draw life will go on. Let’s let the legacy of this virus be that it made us all appreciate life a little bit more and in our sports world may we now look at our professional athletes as human beings and not gods of the universe.