Dear Sports,

March 23, 2020 

Dear Sports,

I miss you.

We all miss you.

Thanks to COVID-19, we are truly getting a glimpse at how much we love you.

Sports aren't just a distraction. They are a part of everyday life that can teach lessons at every turn. Was it a girl or boy who first broke your heart? I bet you sports was there to do it first. I know this is true for me as I watched the San Francisco Giants lose the 1987 NLCS as an 8-year old and it took weeks to get over this horrible tragedy that befell my young life.

Did the heartbreak kill me? Nope. Instead, it served the purpose of showing a young Eric what it is like to be knocked down and pick yourself up again. After all, there's always next season. So you dust yourself off and try again.

Sports also mean so much because family means so much. How did you become a fan of your favorite team? For most of us, we were born into it. Someone in our family, be it a father, mother, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or anyone else, shared their love of a team or sport with us and we got hooked. Sports gives a time to gather as family and have one common cause together, so that we may enjoy the highs and manage the lows with the people who are closest to us.

If you've ever read this blog before or anything I write over at TortureCast.com, you already know my father had a big influence in this regard.

That's what sports does. It brings people together. No matter what was going on in our family, if my father and I didn't see eye-to-eye on something, we could always come back to sports, and baseball specifically, to bring us back together.

It's not all heartbreak. One of the greatest gifts sports gives us, and team sports specifically, is understanding that other people depend us. We are links in a chain. You need every member of your team to be part of a winning culture. I need to know I can depend on you, just as you need to know you can depend on me.

We see it all the time in the sports world. A talented team can't seem to get it together because of dysfunction. It's just another example of how working together can help us achieve the goals we seek in life.

No single person can do it alone.

We miss you, sports. But we know you'll be back and stronger than ever. It's ok to take a pause for a while and deal with the unfortunate circumstances of the present day. Lessons are important, but not spreading a virus and saving lives is more important right now.

We know you'll be there for us when this all ends, and we will be there for you. Thank you for everything you have done to make our lives richer and fuller. I can't wait to see how beautiful you look on the other side.

Love,
Eric Nathanson

P.S. STAY HOME!!!!