Why Orlando deserves the ESPN Courage Award
ESPN is famous for giving out their courage award at their Espy awards. The most iconic of which is of course Jim Valvano who gave the greatest speech that you will hear. Then there are the likes of Stuart Scott and Steve Gleeson, two great men that have shown courage in the most terrifying of circumstances. In fact I went back and recently watched the Valvano speech again. That got me to thinking: who should be the 2016 ESPN Courage award winner? What individual stands out? Is it Kapernick for his stance? Is it the Nebraska football team for the way they have handled the death of Sam Foltz? That's when it struck me: no individual truly stands out this year. There is however a city. A city that was almost torn apart by a madman, but came together and United. A city that has shown the world how to react when terror makes it way to your doorstep. That is why I would like to humbly submit the city if Orlando as the ESPN courage award winner.
It was June 12 when the news broke. I had just finished a Law and Order marathon, a Sunday morning tradition and decided to put in the news. It took a moment for it to set in, the shock of it all. There on the news was Orlando, the city where I went to school and fell in love with, A city where most of my closest friends are from. So of course I had to see what had happened. What I saw next shocked me to my core. The news said that there was a mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando. The first thought was to Knight Library, my old stomping ground and home to numerous UCF night owls. But as more information came out, the aching pit in my stomach continued to ache. The attack was at Pulse Night Club,a predominantly gay night club. I just sat there and watched as the news came out that 49 people were dead and that 53 people were injured in this heinous attack. And for what? Just because they wanted to go out and have a good time. But this is not just about what happened that night, rather it is about a community.
"How can I help?" That's the common phrase used after a tragedy. But the people of Orlando took it to a whole different level. Of course we all saw the stories about the long line of blood donors from the Orlando area. How complete strangers came out in droves to do whatever they could to help. Hell even a Chick-Fil-A, yes the same Chick-Fil-A that has made controversial comments before, opened and provided food to all the blood donors that Sunday. And that is implamatic of what Orlando United is all about. That this attack that was meant to try and destroy this community, to try and rip it apart, actually brought the community together. White, black, conservative, liberal, etc. It did not matter. Everyone wanted to try and help everyone wanted to show that this city was stronger and would carry on. That is true courage. That in the face of something horrific that people came together instead of turning on each other.
Then there were the smaller events that did not get the press coverage they should have. There was Orlando City Soccer club that throughout the season left 49 open seats in their stadium. 49 seats for all of the victims in the attack. They even stopped their next game following the Pulse shooting in the 49th minute. A way to honor the victims. Then there is UCF, my alma mater. You know I have never been prouder to be an alum of that university than after the Pulse attacks. There were thousands of faculty, staff, professors, administrators out in the campus giving blood or volunteering to try and comfort the victims families. Johnny Dawkins and Scott Frost, who had no connection to the community prior to this year, brought both of their teams to donate blood. One of the best pictures that came out of the services following what happened at Pulse was at UCF. There the student union was filled to capacity as 49 flowers were laid on the school emblem within the union. But when you pan around, you can see the students locked arm and arm with one another. It did not matter if they were complete strangers, friends, or people they hated. The students came together as one community to show they would not be divided.
Orlando United is so much more than a saying on t-shirt. It is not about anger or vitriol, but rather it is showing that nothing can break this city. That you will be embraced no matter who you are or what you believe in. Right now America is at one of its most divided points in its modern history. There are riots and protests and where you are shouted down for a different opinion. The country could sure use looking towards Orlando for guidance. Here was a city that could have broken, could have become vitriolic and inspired hate. Instead the city and the people have taken the motto "love not hate" to heart. And in this day and age isn't that what courage is all about? After all that was something that Arthur Ashe preached. So please ESPN give Orlando the courage award at the ESPYS.
