1164: Why Sports Connect Us

It's early, it's not over yet, it's still a series, but the feeling is there, and that feeling, that's what I wanted to talk to you about today here on Thrive Loud.

You see, because here's the thing.

That feeling isn't just about basketball.

And the World Cup isn't just about soccer.

What's really happening right now in New York, across North America, and honestly across the entire globe is something much bigger.

Sports is one of the great connectors on this planet.

And today I want to break down exactly why that is and what it means for all of us.

And I think it comes down to three powerful connections.

So let's go.

The first connection, you and your team.

The most personal connection of the three actually is this.

This isn't a preference.

It's an identity.

You didn't rationally select the Knicks if you're a Knicks fan.

The Knicks kind of found you either through a parent, the neighborhood you grew up in, family members that grew up in that neighborhood, some defining moment in your life.

And once that bond forms, it doesn't break.

Not through losing seasons, not through 53 years.

Talk about what that inheritance means.

Your dad handing you something intangible but real.

That's not sports.

That's legacy.

That's love.

And right now, every person who roots for a World Cup nation is carrying the same thing.

The Mexican-American in Queens isn't just cheering for El Tri, Mexican's team name.

They are El Tri.

It's early, it's not over yet, it's still a series, but the feeling is there, and that feeling, that's what I wanted to talk to you about today here on Thrive Loud.

You see, because here's the thing.

That feeling isn't just about basketball.

And the World Cup isn't just about soccer.

What's really happening right now in New York, across North America, and honestly across the entire globe is something much bigger.

Sports is one of the great connectors on this planet.

And today I want to break down exactly why that is and what it means for all of us.

And I think it comes down to three powerful connections.

So let's go.

The first connection, you and your team.

The most personal connection of the three actually is this.

This isn't a preference.

It's an identity.

You didn't rationally select the Knicks if you're a Knicks fan.

The Knicks kind of found you either through a parent, the neighborhood you grew up in, family members that grew up in that neighborhood, some defining moment in your life.

And once that bond forms, it doesn't break.

Not through losing seasons, not through 53 years.

Talk about what that inheritance means.

Your dad handing you something intangible but real.

That's not sports.

That's legacy.

That's love.

And right now, every person who roots for a World Cup nation is carrying the same thing.

The Mexican-American in Queens isn't just cheering for El Tri, Mexican's team name.

They are El Tri.