The beauty of sports: Bringing a community together

I've had the privilege a few times in my life of watching a sports team bring a community together in a way that just otherwise would not have been possible -- the 1995 Mariners, 1997 Cougars and 2005 Seahawks all come to mind.

But it's inspiring when sports do even more than that -- when they help a community heal.

That's what's happening in Blacksburg, Va., as we speak.

About a half an hour ago, students at Virginia Tech continued the process of returning some semblance of normalcy when their Hokies took the baseball field against Miami. While the result of the game will be insignificant, getting together with other hurting people will help the healing process.

I vividly remember the first Mariners game I went to after 9/11, and the surprising comfort I found being in the presence of 45,000 other Americans, doing something other than mourning. I'm guessing Virginia Tech students will feel the same way, even if it's only a few hundred.

The killer would have wanted the community to remain in a perpetual state of mourning. Good on the Hokies for honoring the victims by competing in their memory.