LANSDALE – Former basketball star and New Jersey senator Bill Bradley said, “Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes, in times of difficulty, can be important role models.”

Stephen M. Ross, a professional sports team owner and renown businessman said, “Sports is the common denominator in the world that brings everyone together. If there’s any one place in the world where there is equality, it is probably sports. That was something that didn’t always exist. We’ve come a long way in sports. Why can’t society use sports as a way to bring people together and create change?”

In the coming weeks sports will unite a world fractured by political strife and religious contention when the Winter Olympics takes the stage in Peongchang, South Korea. But last night, it was football. It was a game of football that brought hundreds of Lansdale area residents and thousands all across the Delaware Valley pouring into the streets to share that communal celebration that before last night eluded Philadelphia Eagles faithful. Tom Brady’s hail mary pass bounced around on the Minneapolis turf, and emotion erupted from a fan base starving for the savory taste of Super Bowl satisfaction.

Not everyone has the physical ability to play sports, and not everyone has a deep seated passion for sports, but regardless of an individual’s own level of connection to the world of sport, it is amazing for us all to see how victory and celebration of sport can bring people together. Politics divides us. religion divides us, business divides us, but sports… what entity brings people together like sports?

Hundreds of area residents descended upon the intersection of Main and Broad Streets in Lansdale last night as cars blared their horns, excited fans screamed from windows and sunroofs, and people erupted in one Eagles chant after another – some more tasteful than others, but all in the spirit of unity and celebration.

Sports may be “just a game,” and perhaps society does glorify its games too often at times, but when something brings pure joy, togetherness, and camaraderie in a community, it is worth recognizing and celebrating. With the Olympic opening ceremonies set for this Friday night, that spirit of sport will continue on an international level, and gives us all a chance to realize that it is possible for people to join arms and see eye to eye.