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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

A nation united through sport

First and foremost, as a Boston native my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone back home. Secondly, in light of recent events, all of my social media pages have exploded with statuses and inspirational photographs praying for and representing the city of Boston. Among the inspirational pictures is one that has become quite popular among my Facebook friends. This picture features a collection of all four Boston mascots drawn to look intimidating and includes the quote, "You messed with the wrong city."
My immediate reaction was one of disgust. Admittedly, I think Bostonians are often too arrogant about the success of our sports teams, and my first thought was that arrogance had carried over into the image being so heavily circulated. I think this was mostly because I saw the posted picture as an individual statement rather than a collective movement. The more I saw the picture circulated, the more I realized in this case, our rich history in sport is not something that is there for us to show off, but rather something that is there to unify us as a community. The passion for Boston sports is almost unrivaled. It is something basically everyone in the community can relate to, providing solidarity and fortitude in times of strength.
Even more importantly, however, the rest of the sporting world in the United States has let us know we are not alone. The Oakland Athletics chanted "Let's go Boston" in the middle of their game, Philadelphia Phillies' player Ben Revere made a spectacular diving catch with "Pray for Boston" written on his glove and there was a moment of silence at the Montreal Bell Centre where the Canadiens play (a team we normally do not get along with). Sports plays s unifying role in our nation during times of tragedy, and as a Bostonian, I am quite thankful for that.




Ian Cronin
junior
Knott Hall
April 16