If you want to know why sports are so important, you saw the answer in Milan this past Sunday.

At a time when we seem to be at odds with each other on almost every issue, we are wondering if we share anything in common, and we fear that this great experiment they call America could be at the brink, our Olympians brought us together and taught us a lesson.

It’s been a long time since I witnessed an athletic event that filled me with so much joy and hope as the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey finals did on Sunday. The U.S. Men’s Hockey team won Gold for the first time in 46 years and the first time ever on foreign ice. They won it in overtime.

Had that overtime goal by Jack Hughes been the final image etched in my mind, it would have been beautiful. But there was something even better to follow.

As the team circled the ice soaking in their momentous achievement and sharing the euphoria of being Olympic champions, they didn’t forget their teammate, Jonny Gaudreau, who, with his brother Matthew, was tragically killed by a drunk driver in August, 2024.

For those of us who watched the team’s post-game celebration on the ice, we will never forget Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski climbing into the stands to grab Jonny Gaudreau’s two young children and take them onto the ice for the team photos while holding up their father’s #13 U.S. Hockey Team jersey. I know I wasn’t the only one tearing up.

It was everything that was right and beautiful about sports because it was genuine, heartfelt and honest. It reminded us that joy is best shared with others, that there is comfort in being a part of something bigger than oneself, and that love is a powerful, unifying force.

I’d like to think that Team U.S.A. won because they were united by a common goal that seemed impossible to others, a sense of responsibility to a greater community, and a true love for each other. Bound together by these powerful forces, Team U.S.A. reminded us that anything is possible.

As Jack Hughes spoke to reporters, clutching the U.S. flag that was draped tightly around his body, he said how proud he was to be an American and to have won the Gold for his country. The words flowed naturally; it seemed like the old days.

We can learn a lot about patriotism, empathy and success from this 24-year-old and his amazing teammates.

Perhaps the flame they and their fellow Olympians lit in us over the past 16 days will be the light that helps see us out of the darkness of these times.

Would be nice to make this feeling more permanent.