This past weekend, I had the fortunate opportunity to visit Arlington, Texas for third annual Lone Star Conference Football Festival. The event, in case yo didn’t know, took place at AT&T Stadium, “The House That Jerry Built.” The stadium, opened in 2008, is the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

First let me just say that the stadium is incredible. The most noticeable feature of the stadium is the 23,000 square foot high definition video board hanging from the ceiling. But, behind the scenes, the broadcast booth my color man Cale Bloskas and I were in was nice. Plenty of outlets, tie-ins to the different microphones in the game and plenty of space to spread out and do our radio broadcast. Also, the staff was very helpful and friendly and got us everything we needed. Kudos to them for that.

But the coliseum in Arlington wasn’t the only reason Cale and I traveled six hours to the metroplex to broadcast; we drove the distance to watch WTAMU take on  Chadron State in a 2012 playoff rematch. The game, which pitted two top-25 teams (and it was the only game between ranked opponents in Division II this week) was played on Thursday night and was televised nationally.

The Buffs were down 21-0 early to the Eagles before staging a seemingly miraculous comeback to take the lead 34-31 with :49 left in the game. WT would hold on to win the game and improve to 2-0 on the year. By the end of the game, my radio voice was struggling to maintain itself. It was one of the best football games I have ever seen.

Here’s what impressed me the most: heart and passion. I had a bird’s eye view of the comeback. The Buffs never gave up, even when the going got tough. WT was stuck between a rock and a hard place and worked their way out of it, one yard, one play at a time. There was tremendous heart of the Buffaloes on display in Arlington on Thursday.

But the other thing I noticed was passion. The passion wasn’t just from the players on the field, but the fans in the stands. Even when WT was down big, you, the fans never stopped cheering. And, for that, I commend you.

It’s always amazing to me what passion for sports can do to you. No matter what walk of life we come from, who we voted for in the last election or the state or nation that we call home, one common denominator can bring us together. And when we do come together, well, special things can happen. All it takes is one spark of unity to ignite a flame of passion. And, when that flame goes, it is eternal, just like the one that will be burning on the new Victory Circle soon.

That moment, that exact time, is when the true passion shows up. It is then that pride is formed; when you yield a part of yourself to that team forever. Eventually, you learn to carry it forward in everything that you do. It’s all thanks to coming to together as a unit. And that is what makes sports special to all of us.