Whew

We've waited since 1983 when the Sixers beat the Lakers for the NBA Championship. It's been quite awhile since the city of Philadelphia has had a sports championship to celebrate. And they're going nuts.

Many cities have trouble drawing people into their arenas, stadiums and ball parks - not Philadelphia. Philadelphia is very devoted to their hometown teams, whether they win or lose.

I woke up in the middle of the night last night and the Philly sports channel was broadcasting live from Citizen's Bank Park and the streets of Philadelphia. It was two in the morning and the streets of Philadelphia were packed with fans. Ballplayers hung out in the stadium all night, never wanting this moment to end.

Sports has always been very important to me. Sports taught me a lot of life skills. It taught me the importance of teamwork, of building relationships, of sportsmanship. It taught me strength and endurance. It taught me how to compete and how to win or lose with grace. It taught me that skill takes practice.

It taught me how sports can bring people together, total strangers hugging, overwhelmed with joy, dancing in the streets.

Our basketball team in high school was kind of like the Phillies, it had been a long time since we had a team that the community could be proud about. Before I was a junior in high school our best team in the history of the school was around 1972, and their record was 12-10.

As we started winning game after game the stands filled to capacity and the gym was rocking.

Once I tapped one in against Lebanon Catholic to win the game with no time on the clock. All I remember is being tackled by my teammates and then the crowd emptied onto the court and piled on.

Once I made a foul shot with no time on the clock to win a Lebanon-Lancaster playoff game. As I walked off the court I heard a chant grow "Albert, Albert, Albert..." I was covered with goosebumps.

Some people may think that sports is a silly waste of time. But moments like that are hard to come by. And the way sports can bring communities together through the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat is just amazing.

There will be a parade down Broad Street in Philadelphia tomorrow. The sidewalks will be packed with strangers smiling and hugging each other. That's a powerful thing.