We Are #OrlandoUnited
Adam Markowitz
Friday June 24, 2016
ORLANDO -- In its simplest form, football is just a game. So are all sports. But sometimes, sports transcend being a simple game. Sometimes, in fact, sports mean everything.
The Orlando Predators beat the Tampa Bay Storm on Friday night in the 61st edition of the "War on I-4" 56-33. Normally speaking, I'd be spending the next 900 words or so discussing the fact that the Preds have now whooped up on their rivals six times in a row, the most consecutive times one team has beaten the other in this storied rivalry or the fact that T.T. Toliver came up just a dozen yards shy of breaking the all-purpose yardage record in AFL history.
Though all of that would be important on most nights, on this night, none of that matters.
This night is for the city of Orlando. This night is #OrlandoUnited.
From the first moment walking into the Amway Center on Friday night, I could just feel that this night was different. One sight of the 49 shirts laid out in the stands on the 15-yard line in the shape of a heart pictured above was the first of many harsh reminders of the 49 lives which were lost on the morning of June 12 at Pulse just up the road from where I type.
A touching tribute of an evening included a massive, 30-yard long banner which stated #OrlandoUnited across the field before the game, black shirts with the #OrlandoUnited slogan and a multi-colored heart, a performance by the Orlando Gay Choir and speeches by some of Orlando's most prominent figures.
Perhaps the most real moment was when Jamia, the in-arena entertainment host for the team broke down and started to tear up when discussing the life of one particular victim from the Pulse shooting, Cory Connell. Connell was a Predators season ticket holder and was at the game against Cleveland just hours before he lost his life.
It was a stern reminder of just how much of a gift life really is, one which can be taken away from you at any given moment.
Even on a night where arch rivals played against each other on the field, the players took the time to stand together in a moment of unity. They were brothers, and they were friends even though they were separated by 70 miles of pure hatred. But that hatred could only be seen on the field. Bragging rights only mean so much when things are put into their proper perspective.
Tonight, I am proud of my league, proud of my city and proud of the team I've adopted as my own since 1992. We may have lost the lives of 49 citizens of this great city, but we haven't been broken as a community and never will be. We came together – all 13,527 of us – and had one voice. We stated that we will not be divided by race, religion, political beliefs or sexual orientation. We will not be allowed to be shattered.
The Predators' role is, of course relatively minor. Forty-two men go out and play a 60-minute game. A three-hour diversion from the rest of life, if you will.
But this night was different, and the role of the Predators as a galvanizing force in the Orlando community was incredibly important executed to perfection. This night was about celebrating the greatness of the City Beautiful and a showcase that we can and will stand united and strong as a city.
We are strong. We are united. We are Orlando. And we are and will forever be #OrlandoUnited.
Photo Credit: Orlando Predators
