By Jackson Koger
A group one would run sprints with until one’s lungs were splitting, a group you would stand up for against opponents twice one’s size, a group who one would give every last ounce of effort and determination for.
A select handful of people in their lifetime will experience an unexplainable commitment to a brotherhood (or sisterhood, ladies) of people who have no blood relation to them. These sets of people carry no obvious benefit of being loyal, but have something worth treasuring nonetheless.
The handful to be blessed by this are some of the luckiest in the world, and I am beginning to consider myself among them.
For years, I have played competitive sports and multiple other clubs’ activities involving the quintessential "teammates" that many of the students have all had; teammates so average that you barely remember their names a year after playing with them.
The people I met there were great and all, but would I go out of my way to sacrifice my time and energy for them? Yeah, no thanks.
As of late, my situation has almost felt movie-like to an extent.
Many of the students, even as outside observers, can see the strong ties in other team sports in our school.
Football is easy to notice. If one does not think they would defend one another proudly and want the absolute best for the team, then that person and I would have a slight disagreement.
Volleyball has had an extremely tough season, but I don’t think I have ever seen a group happier to be around one another than they are.
All of these great moments in team sports are built solely on trust.
Having to trust and depend on someone other than oneself changes such a person.
Your personality (if you let it) can be changed to a less selfish quality, and you can begin to experience the magic of camaraderie.
At the beginning of my soccer season, I felt there were many egos and attitudes that some of the guys had that I could never get along with.
That all changed the moment when I saw that they were willing to stand up for me, and they recognized I would do the same for them.
If one has not ever been a part of something like this, find it. If one never does, I honestly feel sorry for him or her.
It is the stuff great stories are made of and memories are cemented by.
Earlier, I said the brotherhood wasn’t blood, but in reality, they are about as close as it gets to family.
