Any fan of any sport can attest to the fact that sports are emotional. Sports are reflective of life’s peaks and valleys, giving people a taste of the eternal glory that comes with etching one’s name into the history books. This sentiment only grows when you bring in the aspect of national pride that is forever a part of sports.

We especially see it in the Olympic and World Cup years, with entire countries rallying behind their athletes as if their own flesh and blood are out there competing. This particularly applies to athletes with long careers in international competition who become darlings to their countries. How do they become this way?

Sports are often about family. Some people might choose to cheer for the same teams as their parents. They might grow up going to the ballpark with their family and watching nine hours of football every Sunday at home. National pride is often about family, too. There is a certain connection between a person and country that is brought out by sports. People take their country’s wins in international competitions as their own personal wins, even sometimes presenting it as the “good guys” winning. Often, it goes beyond the sport itself. One national team winning over another could feel like a victory for that entire country because of the way sports impact the general population. After all, much of the backdrop for the “Miracle on Ice” in the 1980 Winter Olympics is the fact that the United States and the Soviet Union were still entrenched in the Cold War. The upset win for the Americans brought a certain element of hope to a country that had been battling a beast for so long. In a time when hope and pride were needed, sports delivered.

This is why it is so important for professional sports leagues to utilize their element of international competition and advertise it sufficiently. Most recently, the NHL saw major success with its inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off during what is usually their All-Star break. Fans of Teams USA, Canada, Sweden, and Finland banded together and found themselves rooting for players who they might normally root against during the NHL season, simply because they were wearing their country’s colors. From a business standpoint, the NHL should latch on to this reception and continue the 4 Nations Face-Off — whether every year or every four — because people were so invested in it, even those who were not previously devoted hockey fans.

Many times, these anticipated international events are that way because they don’t happen every year. The two biggest examples are the Olympics and World Cup, both of which are held every four years. Fans grow eager to watch stars compete on the biggest stage in these competitions partially because of the gaps between the competitions. It’s difficult to know which athletes will still be around for these competitions four years later, so their fans might feel a need to pay close attention. Even in sports that are not as popular in non-Olympic years, people grow attached to their country’s athletes. Gymnastics is by no means one of the most popular sports in the United States, but every four years, Olympic gymnastics has a lot of the main coverage in the U.S.

There is an even greater level of dedication for nations with less international sporting success. For example, a highlight of the 2016 Summer Olympics came when swimmer Joseph Schooling won the first gold medal for Singapore in the nation’s history, claiming the top spot in the men’s 200-meter butterfly race and defeating idol and Olympic great Michael Phelps in the process. Oh, and he also set the then-Olympic record for this event. These are the types of moments that people remember forever, and it meant a lot to Singapore that one of their own found himself at the top of the podium, surely feeling on top of the world.

There is something special about representing your country on the biggest stage. Maybe it’s a desire that all sports fans have. Maybe we all secretly wish to wear the gold medal around our neck and step up to the podium knowing that we did ourselves, our families, and our country proud. Or maybe it’s just simple appreciation for the fact that we get to witness the best athletes in the world do what they love and achieve their dreams.

The ability of sports to bring people together is something that should not be taken for granted, especially in this current climate. Sports foster unity in a way that is not always easy to find, considering everything going on in the world. They give us a small respite from the greater happenings around us so that for one moment, our biggest concern can be who wins one game out of countless others that will happen in history.