It’s often been said that after 9/11 the Nation was brought together and started its collective healing with the help of the NFL and the MLB playoffs. I think there are definite truths to that and to the truth that sports can unite and bring people closer. It has been an all too familiar tale with football bringing Virginia Tech closer, and now the NIU basketball, and other teams, trying to heal their friends, family and community through the joy and power of sports.

My friend lost his uncle, Brian, in a plane crash the night before Thanksgiving, Brian was flying a plane back from his son’s (Jason), college basketball game. Jason and Sean, Jason’s teammate and friend, were also on the plane. Both Jason and Sean survived the crash, but both suffered great injuries. Jason was in a coma for a little over a month and went through one ordeal after another but is now on his road to recovery.

Both were members of the Lynchburg College Men’s Basketball team. As Jason and Sean were going through the recovery process the team and the school were always present. Jason’s family started a CarePage for friends, family and other loved ones to monitor Jason’s progress. His coach and teammates were always the first ones to post their well wishes when new updates were made, and were always keeping Jason and Sean on the team, despite their physical absence.

There is a special side to athletes, whether you are a weekend warrior or a professional, there is a fight that you have inside. There is a spirit that never dies no matter what, and often that spirit is what allows you to overcome odds that you shouldn’t, overcome physical and emotional pain that sometimes is too much for others. Jason and Sean were helped to overcome that pain by the love and the caring of their teammates. They were provided strength from the athletes within and the love of team to overcome amazing tragedy.

So out of great tragedy, this team, these teammates, and this school will forever be linked. Jason and Sean, teammates and friends, will forever share a bond that none of us will know. Their “love of the game” a link to their collective healing and source for inspiration will be carried further. An inspirational tale not because they came through the tunnel, but because they came through that tunnel together, and that’s what sports and teammates teach you.