History Heartwarming / RealLifeSports

* January 26, 2020--the NBA (and the entire sports world for that matter) experienced an absolutely shocking tragedy when retired Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, one of the most famous faces in the entire sport, died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others. Many teams who were playing that day decided to pay tribute to him by starting games by purposely running out the shot clock, which is set at 24 seconds- the number Bryant wore. Bryant also wore the number 8, which is the amount of seconds teams have to advance the ball past court, so teams ran that clock out as well.

* The NFL's Washington Redskins also performed the formation in a 2007 game in honor of safety Sean Taylor, who was killed during a break-in at his home. Somewhat surprisingly, the opposing Buffalo Bills chose to run a play despite this (many expected that the Bills would recognize the formation and decline to snap the ball) and gained 22 yards on the play, but not one person on the team ever expressed regret; all of them felt that it was worth it to give that place to Taylor one last time. Two months later in the Pro Bowl, the NFC team also used the formation, as Taylor had been posthumously voted onto the team.

* Ahead of the 2021 season, the NFL relaxed the rules on jersey numbers, allowing defensive backs to wear single-digit numbers for the first time (among other changes). This led cornerback Patrick Peterson, who had joined the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason, to decide he wanted to use his college number, #7, in Minnesota rather than keep the #21 he had worn with the Arizona Cardinals up to that point in his career -- except that third-string/practice squad quarterback Nate Stanley was already using the number, so Peterson couldn't wear the number unless Stanley agreed to switch, and this pretty much always means the player who wants the number has to give the other player something in return. Other NFL players have made out like bandits in this situation, requesting and receiving large sums of money or lavish gifts, but Stanley decided instead to use the opportunity to give back to a program that had helped him get to where he was today, agreeing to give up the number in exchange for Peterson donating new shoulder pads to Stanley's high school football program. Peterson agreed, Stanley switched to #14, and the high school program got much-needed replacements for their failing equipment.

* Before the May 1, 2017 Stanley Cup playoff game between the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks, Canadian country singer Brett Kissell was supposed to sing the US national anthem. For whatever reason, his mic wouldn't work and so [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v324_vjrDr8 gets the crowd to sing it]] ''together'' with little prompting.

* The St. Louis Blues' victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals gave the franchise its first ever championship, after having been founded 52 years before, ending one of the longest championship droughts in history. Not only that, but at the start of 2019, they were officially the worst team in the NHL, before climbing out and becoming the champions.

* On October 23, 2021, a young woman named Nadia Popovici attended the inaugural game for the brand-new 32nd NHL franchise, the Seattle Kraken. While she was sitting behind the Vancouver Canucks' bench, she noticed that their assistant equipment manager, Brian "Red" Hamilton, had a dark mole on the back of his neck when he was reaching out to give someone a piece of equipment. She did volunteer work at a hospital and was familiar with the signs of skin cancer, so she typed a note on her phone that said "The mole on the back of your neck is possibly cancerous. Please go see a doctor!" and then held it up against the glass so he could see it. After removing the mole 2 days later and running tests, the Canucks' team doctor, Jim Bovard, told Red 3 weeks later that it was a Stage 2 malignant melanoma[[note]]Stage 2 means the cancer was only on the outer layers of his skin at that point in time; had it progressed any further, it would reached the inner layers and thus become invasive[[/note]] and that the early detection saved his life, because if Red had let the cancer progress for the next 4 or 5 years, it would've killed him. After tracking Popovici down via social media, both teams got together to give her a $10,000 scholarship to medical school.

* On June 7, 2018, the Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights to clinch the Caps first Stanley Cup in their 44 year existence and banishing 27 years of sports heartbreak for D.C., since their last sports title of any kind was the Redskins' victory in Super Bowl XXVI in the 1991 NFL season.

* October 10, 2017, nine days after the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting, was the first home game of the Vegas Golden Knights' inaugural season. The team had already thrown themselves into the community, donating money and making visits despite being a new team in a less popular sport. At their opening game, each player entered with a first responder -- police, nurses, and EMS workers -- to honor their work. The names of the victims were emblazoned on the ice. Player and Las Vegas resident Deryk Engelland gave a speech dedicating their season to the city. Then, the Knights retired the number 58, in honor of those killed. The Knights went on to win the game and have a spectacular season that led them to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team and city formed a fierce bond, with the Knight's incredible first season cited as helping the city recover from the shooting.

* On October 23, 2021 a young woman named Nadia Popovici attended a Seattle Kraken vs. Vancouver Canucks game and noticed that Brian Hamilton, the Canucks assistant equipment manager, had a large mole on the back of his neck. Popovici did volunteer work at a hospital and was familiar with the signs of skin cancer, so she typed a note on her phone that said, "The mole on the back of your neck is possibly cancerous. Please go see a doctor!" and then held it up so Hamilton could see it. After removing the mole and running tests, Hamilton's doctor told him that it was malignant melanoma and that the early detection had probably saved his life. After tracking Popovici down via social media, both teams got together to give her a $10 000 scholarship to medical school.
* The 2022-23 Vancouver Canucks got off to an absolutely dreadful start. Bruce Boudreau, one of the most successful and well-regarded coaches of all time, had been hired in the offseason after serving as an interim during the previous year. Rumors were circulating as soon as November that Vancouver was looking for a replacement behind the bench and already had someone in mind, and as the Canucks continued to struggle those rumors only got louder. Boudreau was kept in his job despite it being clear that his time was winding down, and was clearly emotional in several interviews. Despite the team's struggles, the Vancouver players and fans continued to support Boudreau, chanting "Bruce, there it is!" throughout the games. At his last game as Canucks head coach, a loss on January 21st to the Edmonton Oilers, the fans gave him a standing ovation and chanted his name as he, clearly touched, saluted them and left the bench. In a game where the coach is often the easiest scapegoat for a struggling team, Boudreau's mistreatment at the hands of Canucks management was widely criticized by fans, showing that while, yes, winning is important, treating people with respect and dignity matters a lot too.

** One year later at Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles, the Dorman family was in attendance for Cody's Wish's last race before retiring to stud: the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. The horse broke toward the back of the pack, and battled with 2023 Preakness winner National Treasure, winning by a nose after surviving a stewards' inquiry. Cody's Wish ended his racing career with 11 wins out of 16 starts, five of them in Grade I races. In something of a {{bittersweet ending}}, it wasn't only the last race for Cody's Wish, but also the last for Cody Dorman—he died the next day while he and his family were returning home to Kentucky.

** And if you're an Eagles fan who despises Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth for displaying what many considered no excitement for the Eagles and not shutting up about the Patriots during the game, here's a call of the final play [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aftrKoXwOHs courtesy of Patriots radio broadcaster Bob Socci]], that displays total sportsmanship on his end. Having been with the Patriots in his short time, you would think he was devastated to see them lose after winning two in a short time span, but instead he has the diligence to congratulate the winning team after how starved they had been for that precious win.

* The entire Red Sox [[TrueCompanions team]] forming a gigantic GroupHug after '''finally''' winning the World Series after all those years. The first person many of the players called following the final game was former Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, who had long been the subject of ridicule for having made the fielding error which cost the Red Sox their last shot at the World Series in 1986. All those accounts of fans across New England leaving 2004 World Series memorabilia at the graves of loved ones who never got to see their beloved Red Sox win a championship. Plus Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon saying that he would have given up Boston's dramatic Game 7 ALCS victory over the Yankees to prevent [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Victoria_Snelgrove the death of Victoria Snelgrove]], the college student who was killed during the post-game riots. Beautifully, ''wordlessly'' summed up in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2JbRYrmf74 this Nike commercial]] which aired immediately following the final game.

* Normally you hear about sports pros donating money on the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars and visiting the troops, people in hospitals, etc. Charles Woodson, a cornerback for the Green Bay Packers did the second by visiting kids in the hospital. Along with him he brought along a $2 million check to donate to the UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan for pediatric research.

* Another story from the 2014–15 season: Austin Hatch — survivor of ''two'' plane crashes that killed the rest of his immediate family, the second of which left him in a coma for two months — [[http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12069785/austin-hatch-michigan-wolverines-scores-first-collegiate-point scores his first point]] at [[UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan Michigan]]. Hatch went on to receive the men's version of the award that Hill received during her first game. While that season would prove to be his only one as a college player—he and Wolverines coach John Beilein announced he would end his playing career after that season due to the aftereffects of the second crash—it was far from the end of his journey with Michigan basketball. The Wolverines received a medical waiver for Hatch that kept him on scholarship through his graduation in spring 2018. For the rest of his time at Michigan, he was a student assistant coach, participating fully with the team except for not being on the active roster. And, for [[http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22493262/michigan-wolverines-honors-plane-crash-survivor-austin-hatch what would have been his senior day]], he suited up and participated in warmups with the rest of the team, and was honored alongside the seniors on the active roster, with his fiancée with him on court. Minor DownerEnding: Michigan lost to Villanova in the 2018 national championship game, Hatch's last on the sideline.

** Cody and his family would go on to attend many of the horse's races. Notably, he was in the winner's circle watching his namesake come from behind to win the 2022 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, with NBC race announcer summing up the finish with "The wish has come true! That one's for you, Cody!"

*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKAz0fI27Fk Joyce was openly crying at the plate when Galarraga handed him the lineup card]]. Even though I hated him about 16 hours previous, I couldn't help but feel bad for him when I saw this on TV today. He handled his job with an amazing amount of dignity and was not afraid to admit that he was wrong, a bit of a plague in baseball umpiring this season. Restores some of the faith I've lost in many sports for being too proud and acting like sportsmanship is a relic of the past.

* Heartwarming Moment on ''Series/MondayNightFootball'', to Brett Favre, to the crowd, hell, everyone in the stadium! On the October 5th, 2009 game, for the first time playing in a purple and gold Vikings jersey, Favre faces off against his old team, the Green Bay Packers inside of the Minnesota Metrodome. Despite his warm greeting during the last home game, the crowd finally let Favre know over the course of the game just how much they accepted him now that he was playing like this against the Packers, bringing a huge smile to the man's face. Even after the MN defense smashed the GB offensive line and quarterback, at the end of the game, pretty much the entire Green Bay team went over to greet, compliment his playing and wish Favre luck with his new team, [[ManlyTears bringing tears to his eyes]]. The sight of all of this brought me to my own tears at just how loved this man is in the world of football, no matter what side he is on. The 30–23 win brought the Vikings to 4–0 for the season at that point, doubling all the events in the game as a ''Crowning SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome''.

** More than a decade later in 2023, the Feyenoord fans returned the favour in the same match. Thijs Slegers, the press secretary of PSV, was also terminally ill. The PSV-fans showed a banner with the words 'Thijs - Eendracht macht Macht' (Unity is Power) in the twelfth minute to support Thijs. The Feyenoord fans joined in with a massive applause and again singing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJsn_TLCLao You'll Never Walk Alone. ]]