Saturday night was a special night for Charlie Davies. The former U.S. soccer star scored two goals in his D.C. United debut, performing unbelievably in his first extended competitive game since a devastating car accident nearly took his life in 2009.
After it was over, Davies said it was the best day of his life. It seemed a little hyperbolic on paper, just because Davies had accomplished so much before his accident. But if you watch this postgame interview on CSN, you can see that it wasn't. Davies was incredibly emotional after the game was over, and wasn't afraid to let that emotion show.
It's a strong reminder of how much these games mean to these athletes. Sure, we all have things we love to do, but we don't devote our lives to something the way many of these athletes do. When that is taken away, it's such a huge blow. Not many athletes have the chance to come back from the kind of circumstances Davies had to deal with. Davies did, and it means more to him than any of us can truly understand.
(Also, as an aside, kudos to CSN's Russ Thaler for keeping the questions simple and letting Davies' emotions take over. What a powerful moment).