Probably the single coolest thing I have ever seen in my 24 years on this planet was in 2007 when I went to the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends and the men of the Tuskegee Airmen where driven down the strip between some of the planes and the vendors and grand stands. It didn’t matter where people where or what they were doing; everybody stopped and turned around. They removed their hats, clapped, or saluted. It is hard to explain the power of that scene to anybody who was not there. I only wish that I had been able to speak to them. I have some video from this event and I need to find it and get it online here.

A very similar thing, is Seats for Soldiers (link, link 2, link 3).

The Dallas Mavericks don’t have a regular courtside customer from the Jack Nicholson/Spike Lee/Eva Longoria universe.

The front-row folks at American Airlines Center are known for something else.

They’re known for an annual (and powerful) act of charity during the Christmas season that, if not exactly glamorous, has the capacity to move a crowd of thousands.

“There isn’t a more goose-bump-raising moment in sports than watching 150 soldiers stand up in the front row and react to 20,000 Mavs fans giving them a three-minute standing ovation,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban says.

It makes me want to buy front row tickets just so that I can give them away so more soldiers can be honor this way. Why can’t we hear more about this kind of thing? I would much rather hear about this than gas prices, bailouts, or how depressing the world is.