Mike shared this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4oA3kkAWU
with me yesterday. I forgot where he found it, but it’s an amazing story.
People talk all the time about how sports bring people together. The power of the Olympics, the World Cup, an exhibition game amongst once bitter enemies and now tentative friends.
And yet, large sporting projects usually lead to massive gentrification of neighborhoods. Mass protests in Brazil marred the Confederations Cup. The money that’s in the sporting leagues these days. Empty stadiums because sponsors couldn’t possibly give away enough tickets.
I think stories like this are the exception, and no longer the rule. Sports is becoming a bottomless pit of money. The purity of the games is left to kids playing in parks, streets, and boats around the world.
And I think that the power of sport is in giving those kids the dreams. Too bad the reality is becoming so sour.