When I was 7 years old, I started watching sports with my father. We would watch Sunday football games and the Indians trying to get back to the World Series. There was always something I loved about sports. I don’t know if it was because I got to spend time with my father, or because I wanted to be like the men and women on TV, but I loved it.

Recently, I was reminded why I love sports so much. Sports are where the impossible happen. The game is where we can still watch present day miracles unfold when a group of people get together for a common goal. It’s where, for a few moments, nothing else in the world matters but the game. It’s the game that binds us. It’s the game that changes everything. I can watch the game and root in solidarity with someone in China or cheer against a fan in Russia. Sports still serve as a frontier for community around the globe.

What was my reminder you ask? Derek Jeter, aka “The Captain”, gave a salute to his team, his organization, the city of New York and sports fans everywhere. As he stepped up to the plate for his last time at bat in Yankee Stadium, he reminded us that fairy tale endings still live among us. Playing the Baltimore Orioles, the game was tied in the 9th inning 5-5. There is one runner on second base. Jeter steps up to bat and knocks in a single. The runner on second rounded the bases and slides home…safe! It was truly a monumental moment in sports history. Derek Jeter was a class act, a decent man in an indecent time in sports. He helped us relive another fairy tale that we don’t always get the pleasure to see in sports. These once-in-a-lifetime moments changed the lives of fans and families forever.

As I write this with tears in my eyes, I say “Thank Derek Jeter.” Thank you for making that kid and his dad jump into each others arms with joy. Thank you for making that family pizza night memorable forever. Thank you for making some young kid think his glove makes him a superhero. Thank you for making that person, who just worked 60 hours and rushed to pay their final respects, know that it was all worth it. Derek Jeter lived a career that people everywhere dream of and he only did it one way, his way. So to that, I tip my cap to the greatest sportsman of all time: Derek Jeter.