The fans of the Dutch team Excelsior throw stuffed animals to the children of the Sophia Hospital in Rotterdam, in a tender act of solidarity

Few in Holland will forget the game played in Rotterdam by the regional rivals Feyenoord and Excelsior at the De Kuip Stadium. In the meeting, the fans of the visiting team, Excelsior, had a great gesture of solidarity that day. In the 19th minute of the match they started throwing stuffed animals from the upper stand of the stadium to the lower stands, where the children of the Sophia Hospital in Rotterdam were, creating a "rain of stuffed animals", according to Mundo Deportivo.

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According to Registered Marketing, it is tradition that the Feyenoord, every season, invite hospitalized children from that health center. The Excelsior wanted to be part of this tradition, and through different media and social networks were responsible for organizing fans to bring stuffed animals to the meeting.

The objective was to surprise the children attending the health center so that they could take a nice memory of the game, beyond the experience of attending the sporting event. The match ended with the score in favor of Feyenoord with 3-0, but the Excelsior won the hearts of all attendees for the beautiful gesture they had.

It is not the first time it happens

In September 2016, according to Marca, the ADO Den Haag fans did the same in a match against Feyenoord when they learned that one of the lower stands would be occupied by children from the Rotterdam Hospital. So, they planned the surprise them and during the game they started throwing the stuffed animals to where the young people were, generating great joy and emotion in the attendees.

The match ended with a score of 3-1 in favor of the local so the joy for the fans was double, but the main reference of the game was again the rain of stuffed animals.

In December 2017 a similar event occurred in Belgium, the match between Charleroi and Oostende was delayed to start because the fans of both teams threw a big rain of stuffed animals to the court. This in order to promote, within the framework of Christmas, a better lifestyle for street children, according to the Stadium portal. The stuffed animals were used as gifts for low-income children.

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Also in basketball

These beautiful gestures have not only occurred in soccer, basketball has also had its rains of stuffed animals. In December of 2017, in the game between Club Baloncesto Canarias, known as Iberostar Tenerife, and the Gran Canaria Basketball Club, a similar event occurred. At the time of the rest to prepare the second half of the game, the court began to flood with stuffed animals.

According to La Opinión de Tenerife, this was an initiative in which the DISA Foundation, the CB Canarias Foundation and the Red Cross participated in favor of children in need, so that they could have a Christmas present. Raquel Montes, director of the DISA Foundation indicated that "with this charitable initiative we want to contribute our bit to make the Christmas of the families most in need a bit happier".

Sport generates many emotions

Sport, beyond joining fans for their passion towards a certain team, generates strong rivalries between them. One of the most emblematic cases is the rivalry between Rangers and Celtic. Thus, according to the Besoccer portal, competition goes beyond the passion for sport. However, the problem is when these rivalries instill hatred.

In Argentina, for example, there are some of the biggest barra brava. In addition to rivalries for soccer, drugs, drug trafficking and murders are problems that have been presented. Even, according to CNN, 317 people have died of causes of violence in sports since 1922.

However, sport can become a meeting point between all citizens and be the means to achieve an end that is beneficial for the entire population, as is the case of fundraising, toys and a host of things to people need it.

LatinAmerican Post | Daniela Escalante

Translated from "Así se vivió la dulce lluvia de peluches durante un partido

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