/ 1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2600 Suite Stars, the of Avenue 1900 / Briefings Additional copies: Additional JOEL KURTZMAN [email protected] The Transcendent We 90067 CA Angeles, Los

T here is we, the subject of this issue of Briefings, and then there is

PARTING THOUGHTS PARTING the we that’s even bigger. You might call the bigger we ethereal, transcendent, awesome, rare, indescribable, cool. ✺ Don’t get me wrong, the feeling of we is very comforting. Why else would people put up on YouTube all those pictures of puppies and kitties snug-

gling together on sofas and beds? We go where the warmth is. Service: Customer Circulation Reprints: Levyn Stacy Advertising:

ut there are several different kinds plishments as a player, they were celebrating

B of we. There’s we — as in, “we are his accomplishments as a human being — Sledzianowski Tiffany Manchester United,” or “we are the Oakland the values he embodied. Raiders,” or “we are the proud employees of That made the ceremony different. In- Dunder Mifflin,” indicating that “we” are stead of focusing on a team, it focused on the part of a pretty awesome group that’s sepa- game. Instead of a city, it was the country. +1 (310) 556-8502 (310) +1 rate from other groups. Much of sports is like Instead of divisions, it was about unity.

that. We feel good because we are part of this Instead of differences, the ceremony focused 556-8502 (310) +1 +1 (310) 226-6336 (310) +1 team and not that one. That other team — on commonalities. that’s the one we hate. When the last hand was shaken and the But there is more. Something bigger. I saw last cheer let out, it was clear that there were that demonstrated a few weeks ago at — of all two sides to this drama. On the one hand, Red “There places — Fenway Park, the stadium where the Sox saluted their New York rivals on Red Sox is no us Boston Red Sox play. Even more odd, the turf. On the other, New Yorkers saluted their without game was the last for Derek Jeter, captain longtime opponents right where they lived. them, of the New York Yankees. These two teams You can’t have a game without teams. But in no me have a 100-year-old rivalry, and Jeter chose this case, the opponents knew they were part without to retire on Red Sox turf. That’s a little like of something much bigger — that higher we. you.” Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting This is the secret sauce of we that is hardly n n niomnal rsosbe manner. responsible environmentally an in TE T i P FSC

U.S. President Barak Obama to one of his ever talked about. It’s a kind of transcendence R ® N judo tournaments. that comes not from dwelling on one closely - etfe ppr n sybsd inks soy-based and paper certified But here is what made things different. knit group’s hard-fought, hard-earned superi- D

Jeter is a much beloved man — a hero of the ority over another, but by understanding that I N

game in most fans’ eyes. Jeter is known for his each team is in it together. There are no win- . A . S . U E H T sportsmanship, his fairness and objectivity, ners without losers. There is no us without his love of his team and his interest in people. them, no me without you. You could feel that He’s a ballplayer to be sure, but he’s also a in the air at Jeter’s last game.

philanthropist, and a role model. He’s the guy But then, when the ceremonies stopped solar , r e w o p r a l o s h t i w who jumps out of nowhere to shake the other and the game began, and as the Yankees took team’s hand when they do something really to the field, there was a pitch, a disagreement magical. Jeter is a class act par excellence. about a call and the game’s first boo. Hey, So there he was at Boston’s Fenway with even though this was one of those cosmic  34,500 fans in the stadium, many from New moments, baseball’s still a game. York, undergoing a ceremony to thank him © Copyright 2014, Copyright © 1949-8365 ISSN for, well, playing. There were dignitaries Joel Kurtzman from politics and sports, entertainment is author of the new and other fields. They sang, read poetry and book Unleashing hugged him a lot. the Second K

American Century. Ferry orn But what became clear was what they  kurtzmangroup.com were celebrating. Instead of Jeter’s accom-

72 BRIEFINGS