The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
John Foley
As the clock wound down on the high school team’s football season, many players became emotional.
They sought comfort from teammates and coaches, family and friends. Some of these tough young men — who wouldn’t need a vehicle to hit-and-run you into the hospital — openly wept.
Early the next morning, I went to a coffee shop for breakfast and pondered this display of emotion, which was quite moving.
I couldn’t even recall the last time I cried myself, though I suspect it was probably while watching a good movie. This is fairly common; I read that the opening montage of the animated film "Up" resonated with moviegoers and triggered many tears.
I was more affected by the Ravager funeral scene in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." Cat Stevens was singing. Sylvester Stallone was forgiving. Fireworks were exploding in outer space. I was overwhelmed.
Fortunately, I got a hold of myself before dripping tears into my popcorn. It was comforting to hear some snuffling from others in the audience and realize I wasn’t the only one struggling with my emotions.
As a freelance sportswriter and former basketball referee, I’ve seen many folks get emotional at games, particularly if the contest is close and hard-fought. Thus, most sporting tears are shed during the final minutes.
A notable exception was Philadelphia Eagles’ Coach Nick Sirianni, who famously wept before the Super Bowl a few years ago. I would guess that his outburst flood was triggered more by Chris Stapleton’s rendition of the national anthem than the anticipated contest.
Yes, music is a soggy culprit. Folks cry while listening to Mozart, Bruce Springsteen and everything in between. Oprah Winfrey has said she bursts into tears whenever she hears a performance by Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli.
Roy Orbison’s "Crying" might be the most famous song on the subject, although my favorite lyrics were penned by the all-but-forgotten Harold Barlow: “I’ve got tears in my ears,” he wrote, “from lyin’ on my back/in my bed while I cry over you.”
At the games I cover, curiosity compels me to ask questions of athletes, coaches and even fans. But my instincts tell me that asking people why they are crying would yield only four possible answers, none of them quotable:
1. I’m happy.
2. I’m sad.
3. I don’t know.
4. None of your business.
I’m sure the vast majority of tears are shed because people feel sad. Yet the third answer is the most interesting to me, hidden as it is in the alchemy of emotions.
Author and theologian Frederick Buechner wrote eloquently about this: “You never know what may cause them,” he wrote. “The sight of the Atlantic Ocean can do it, or a piece of music, or a face you've never seen before. A pair of somebody's old shoes can do it…You can never be sure.
“But of this you can be sure. Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next.”
One of these profound moments might even occur at a sporting event. So go to your kid’s game, your friend’s game, any game. Cheer and boo. Share the experience with other fans. And maybe cry a little.
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