In a very bizarre situation, I found myself, a football fan who was trying to watch football, sitting on the floor of my living room glued to the TV. However, I wasn’t watching football. To my chagrin, the channel was set to a different program when I turned on the TV. It was Rally for Relief.
The event, prior to the Australian Open tournament, was a global showcase held in order to raise money for wildfire relief, as Australia has been suffering from dramatic fires that have caused unbelievable chaos for its people and wildlife.
The stars of the sport turned out for the event, highlighted by professionals such as Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, Kyrgios, and many others.
They played games, they laughed, they competed against each other. It seemed like so much fun for all the players. Fans were brought onto the court or interviewed at times, namely firefighters who had been battling the dangerous conditions.
The show not only worked — it was a huge success. Raising nearly $5 million for fire relief, it brought the tennis world together in a way almost too good to be true for TV.
Did I tear up a few times? Maybe so. Did I skip the NFL playoffs in favour of tennis? Oh yeah I did. Not only that — I would do it again.
