OT: Eternal Champions - The unthinkable fate of Chapacoense

[convertedpatsfan]

The unthinkable fate of Chapecoense

Warning: ESPN. But it's an excellent feature story worthy of your time.

I didn't give this story much thought at the time that it happened. It was obviously tragic, and I was saddened to hear about it, but I didn't really think about it too much afterwards. But this is a really well-written look at this soccer team that perished on a flight to a championship game, and how that affected the friends, families, and whole town.

An under-rated aspect of this story was the other team in the championship game, Atlético Nacional, who requested that they be allowed to forfeit the final matches so Chapecoense could be given the championship, and those who perished would be champions forever. This didn't get much play in the media and obviously it's nothing compared to the impact and pain caused to so many people by this plane crash, but it was still a very beautiful gesture on their part.

For those curious about how the NFL would handle something like this:

In a "near disaster," in which fewer than 15 players are killed or lost for the season, teams would be required to play out the season but would receive priority on all waiver claims.

In a "disaster," in which 15 or more players are killed or lost for the season, the commissioner decides whether the team will continue its season. If it does, the "near disaster" plan would kick in. If not, a restocking draft would take place in the offseason and the team would get the No. 1 pick in that year's NFL draft.

ESPN.com - GEN - 'God forbid it should ever be needed'

 

[JayNM]

As a Brazilian, I can tell you all: It affected all of us.

It is known that Soccer has incredible influence in Brazil's society, so it affected us deeply.

This team, Chapecoense, was a small, recently founded team, based on a small city, . As with most things in Brazil, they had to fight hard to earn a spot in the Top League here, 3 years ago. Started from Division 4, struggling to play in the worst possible conditions.

They clicked in the Sul-Americana though, the second largest cup in the continent . Against teams like San Lorenzo and Independiente (Sul-American Giants from Argentina), they beat them all, in their way to the finals. A underdog story for the ages.

I remember what I was doing. I had a assignment, so I was up late. A friend texts a group message "Did you hear? The Chapecoense flight fell"

Then it began with a series of unreal news. First things that come out were that only a few people had died. But then they found the remainings of the plane. All the players, the coaches, presidents. All were there for that incredible moment. A team that had worked so hard for so long to reach that place, gone.

Thank you for posting this story, they are worth remembering

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The unthinkable fate of Chapecoense

Warning: ESPN. But it's an excellent feature story worthy of your time.

I didn't give this story much thought at the time that it happened. It was obviously tragic, and I was saddened to hear about it, but I didn't really think about it too much afterwards. But this is a really well-written look at this soccer team that perished on a flight to a championship game, and how that affected the friends, families, and whole town.

An under-rated aspect of this story was the other team in the championship game, Atlético Nacional, who requested that they be allowed to forfeit the final matches so Chapecoense could be given the championship, and those who perished would be champions forever. This didn't get much play in the media and obviously it's nothing compared to the impact and pain caused to so many people by this plane crash, but it was still a very beautiful gesture on their part.

For those curious about how the NFL would handle something like this:



ESPN.com - GEN - 'God forbid it should ever be needed'

As a not so morbid aside, there's also an epidemic plan in case a large number of players are incapacitated by a flu or MRSA or something at the same time. It would allow them to activate practice squad players en masse.