As the Fourth of July festivities carried on all-day Thursday, I was reminded how each of us has a civic duty to fulfill.
Recognizing and celebrating the sacrifices made by the men and women of our country?s Armed Forces is a patriotic obligation.
It?s something that shouldn?t be done for just a few fleeting moments every summer, but consistently throughout the calendar year.
While there are multitudes of ways to display thankfulness for those courageous warriors, the manner in which the sports world accomplishes it transcends the power of words.
While each individual civilian has his or her own unique memories of such moments, having the opportunity to share my own on such a broad platform is something I simply can?t bypass.
Growing up in Elkhart, Ind., a small town roughly 20 miles east of Notre Dame?s campus, a weekly tradition each fall was to attend the Irish?s home games with my father, a 1980 Notre Dame graduate.
I became familiar with common opponents such as Purdue, USC, Michigan, Michigan State, etc., but there was something inherently special when the service academies ? Navy, Air Force and Army ? visited Notre Dame Stadium.
My first detailed memory of the mystique of those academies was a game on Nov. 8, 2003, when Navy was in town for a late season match up.
Typically, fans would ?boo? the opposing team when it ran onto the field, but, that day, fans cheered wildly as the lead player proudly carried and waved an oversized American flag out of the tunnel and to the visitors? sideline.
Yet the moment when the collective patriotism of those 80,795 fans became palpable had yet to arrive.
As the national anthem was sung, a trio of military planes made an idyllic flyover that brought tears to the eyes of many around me.
As an 11-year-old, I couldn?t comprehend that reaction, but 10 years later, it all makes sense.
The 2006 season provided another spectacle, this time with the cadets of West Point in town.
In an unforgettable act of solidarity, fans of both teams lined the street around the stadium to cheer the Army bus as it made its way to the player entrance gate.
How often do moments such as that occur in sports?
I?d like to say nearly never. But that?s the power of patriotism in action.
Prior to that afternoon?s game, during the singing of the national anthem, the focus wasn?t on the words being sung, but the paratroopers with bright orange parachutes falling through the sky.
And perfectly on cue, one by one, each landed on the field at the 50-yard-line.
Chants of ?U-S-A? broke out in a rapid fervor, which, for the first time, brought tears to my eyes.
It was a moment I?ll not soon forget, one that evokes a deeply personal appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices that the men and women of our nation?s military branches make on a daily basis so that we, the civilians, may enjoy freedom.
?? ckillore@indiana.edu
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Source: http://idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=93323
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