Back in the late 90’s I was coaching baseball and hockey at a local high school. We were about to play in the championship hockey game and I sent out requests for all the other alumni to send in well-wishes for the team. We got several replies urging the team’s success but one stood out.
My friend and classmate, John Marro (NYA ’91, USMA ’95), was serving in the Balkans at that time and he sent a note not willing the team to victory but describing his daily routine: avoiding snipers, worrying about land mines and suicide attacks and just general drudgery that goes with being in the army. He said what a relief it was every time he got an update from me about how the team was doing and details of their latest game. Not just because he was a proud alumnus, but because it gave him a few minutes to escape from his surroundings. He could think back on his own playing career at NYA and he could imagine himself in the stands watching the team play.
Sports are often referred to as a battle or a war, the players we cheer are hailed as heroes but it is important to remember what a real war is like and who the real heroes are. When the Americans played the Russians at the Sochi Olympics earlier this season, the game was won when TJ Oshie scored in the shootout. After the game Oshie was hailed as an ‘American hero,’ Oshie quickly quieted that talk by responding, “The American heroes are wearing camo. That’s not me.” That is very true. The men and women of our armed forces have sacrificed more than we’ll ever be able to comprehend and are real heroes. However, it should be remembered that one of the reasons they are committing those sacrifices is so that we’ll be able to continue playing these games. They do provide a respite, however brief, for them – whether they be Olympic games on a global stage or a high school game on a local one.
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