What we learned from being World Series Champs
December 26, 2017
It’s hard to believe it has been less than two months since the Astros won the World Series. It was an exhilarating ride in the month of October watching our team arrive at the pinnacle of the baseball world. Many of us had spent our whole lives following this team and finally have a chance to celebrate!
For me, it was like a dream come true: an early Christmas present to our entire storm wearied city! I feel so blessed to be a part of the journey and am so grateful for the lessons and spiritual reflections I had while watching the Astros capture their first ever championship!
I was able to attend one of the League Championship Series games with my family. We saw the Astros beat the Yankees and I got to capture it with my dad, my brother and my nephew. It was incredible to be able to celebrate that night as a family and watch the team we love with the people we love.
Sports has a way to bring people together and remind us that we aren’t that different from each other. The whole city became like a family during that magical 18-game playoff run in October.
We could go anywhere in the city and talk about our Astros and how much they meant to us. It gave special meaning to all of us in our time of recovery because we had suffered so much together in August and we were able to rejoice together just two months later. A group of 25 players and their coaches were able to unite together a whole city of more than six million people and help them become like a family cheering and supporting them on!
We were united as a Houston family in the stands for those electric playoff games at Minute Maid Park. The whole crowd stood on every pitch cheering on our team, basically saying, “We aren’t going to let you fail. We were there for each other during the hurricane and we are here for you now. We are a family and we can get through anything!”
The Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers were not nearly as fierce of a foe as Hurricane Harvey, but baseball became for us a reminder that we can get through anything. If we have faith, family and a common purpose, we can overcome anything as long as we stick together!
The World Series Championship is simply about baseball, but it taught us so much about life. I hope the Astros continue to win and play great baseball next season. And I hope our city learns that the greatness we saw this year doesn’t have to be limited to the field.
The city of Houston was great this year because we became a family when we needed each other the most. I hope and pray that we can continue to be there for each other whenever things get tough!
Can you imagine what our churches would look like if we approached our faith the same way we supported the Astros?
Father T.J. Dolce is the director of the Archdiocesan Office of Vocations.