40 Wholesome Moments In Sports That Remind Us Why We Fell In Love With The Game In The First Place
Some say sports are just about winning. I say sports are about that kid helping his rival finish the race. About fans clapping for the other team. About a coach who wipes tears from an athlete’s face like it’s part of the game plan.
In a world where elbows fly and tempers flare, these wholesome moments in sports remind us why we fell in love with the game in the first place. Whether it’s a runner slowing down to help an injured opponent or a crowd erupting for a child’s first basket, these snapshots of kindness, respect, and raw humanity will hit you right in the feels—probably harder than a championship tackle.
So stretch your cheeks, because you’re about to smile, tear up a little, and then smile again. These are sports moments that weren’t about points—but about people.
#1. 1500m silver medalist Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN) gifts Olympics champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) his bracelet. Cheruiyot has won 12 out of 13 of the pair’s career clashes to date but Ingebrigtsen finally beat the great Kenyan to land the Olympics 1500m title.
Source: SoDakZak
#2. Kyle Lowry stopping his fans from celebrating Durant’s injury in the NBA finals
Source: ClavinDujuan
#3. Adonis Lattimore, who was born without legs, just won the Virginia State Wrestling Champion. This picture is everything.
Source: thisisAndrew09
#4. Kid works out everyday in order to keep up as a guide for an older blind kid during athletic sports
Source: foxmulder2014
#5. Cheerleader helping out a friend so fan could get a shot
Source: Reddit User
#6. Usain Bolt runs as a guide for blind Paralympic champion Terezinha Guilhermina in Rio
Source: paone22
#7. They tried stopping her running, and look what happened 50 years later
Source: EndersGame_Reviewer
#8. The Popeye’s kid from that meme just won State Championship with his football team!
Source: nitro4450
#9. The World Boxing Council 94 94 (WBC) has recognized him as a full time world champion. He has the official WBC historical record, for being the best fighter in the world for a day.
The most deserved belt in history was given to Bridget Walker the little boy who saved his little sister from a German shepherd dog. He had 90 stitches all over his body, but saved his three-year-old sister from certain death. And had said “If anyone has to die, it would be me, I am the big brother” The World Boxing Council 94 94 (WBC) has recognized him as a full time world champion. He has the official WBC historical record, for being the best fighter in the world for a day
Source: Due-Difference3740
#10. Football player making the world a better place
Source: Allstarhit
#11. This is such a sweet gesture
Source: delusionsheeep
#12. Found this under my office door, along with $6. I work at a sports venue
Source: mikehimself29
#13. Jamie, who has cerebral palsy, is the janitor Greenwood High School football team. He always wanted to play sports growing up, but he couldn’t, so their state championship winning football program rewarded him with a championship ring
Source: 1q8b
#14. This is why sports are great
Source: Parker1055
#15. Dick’s Sporting Goods supports CHOICE
Source: parkesc
#16. Every time DeAndre Hopkins scores, he finds his mom, who lost her sight 17 years ago and gives her the touchdown ball. One of the best traditions in sports.
Source: NRGpop
#17. Japan as a nation is full of madlads. From the food to the art to their work ethic, really mad indeed.
Source: the-devil-dog
#18. Tiger Woods hugging his son after winning The Masters tournament. Biggest come back in sports history. So many people openly said he was washed up.
Source: Reddit User
#19. During the 2010 Zheng-Kai marathon Jacqueline Nyetipei Kiplimo from Kenya saw a Chinese elite athlete struggling to drink water. She ran with him from the 10km to the 38km mark aiding him through all the water stations. This slowed her time to 2nd place.
Source: CHRIST0PHER95
#20. This Athlete, Marios Giannakou, Carried A Disabled Biology Student Named Eleftheria To The Top Of Mount Olympus, Her Dream
Source: NRGpop
#21. In 1912, Jim Thorpe, an American Indian, had his running shoes stolen the morning of his Olympic track and field events. He found this mismatched pair of shoes in the garbage and ran in them to win two Olympic gold medals that day.
Source: WhatWasThatLike
#22. Cyclist finds injured doggo, carries him to safety and gives him a forever home.
Source: crankbot2000
#23. 13 year old twin sisters, Chloe and Claire, were competing in a race. After Chloe was injured, Claire carried her across the finish line.
Source: hoosakiwi
#24. Coach leading his team out of the locker room.
This guy is Rob Mendez. Born without arms and legs, Mendez is a football coach who has never run the ball, caught it or thrown it. He learned football from video games. “I’m not a disabled coach. I’m a different coach,” Mendez said. “When you dedicate yourself to something and open your mind to different possibilities and focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t do, you really can go places in this world,” Mendez said.
“I’ve made it this far and who says I can’t go further. That’s my message tonight. Who says I can’t? Nobody.” He leads the junior varsity team at Prospect High School near San Jose. Drawing up plays the only way he can, with a stylus in his mouth. Improbable? Yes. Impossible? No way. His team went 8-2 last year.
Source: Sumit316
#25. UCF’s Shaquem Griffin lost his hand at age four, meets a fellow amuptee after a game in which he had 3 sacks, a fumble recovery, and even an interception. In April, it is widely believed that he will fulfill his dream of being drafted into the NFL.
Source: Reddit User
#26. This girl won three gold medals for 400m, 500m, and 800m run during their province’s Sports Council Meet with only her makeshift “Nike” shoes
Source: LyraStark
#27. Team USA coach Andrea Fuentes saving the life of exhausted swimmer Anita Alvarez.
Source: BlueShift42
#28. Texas High School football team honors their teammate who was k*lled earlier this week
Source: reiders
#29. Pele and British captain Bobby Moore trade jerseys in 1970 as a sign of mutual respect during a World Cup that had been marred by racism.
Source: Reddit User
#30. Only when it gets in your eyes
Source: AFeast
#31. This one made me smile
Rivera was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma located in a lymph node of his neck. Thankfully the diagnosis was discovered early. Rivera went through five treatments a week of chemo and proton therapy for seven weeks. He did not miss a single game during this time.
Source: cometvii
#32. Winning isn’t everything
Source: hootersbutwithcats
#33. An Eastern Kentucky coal miner raced directly from his shift to take his son to a UK basketball game
Source: Reddit User
#34. Couldn’t have described it better myself
Source: Palifaith
#35. A friend of mine is a goalkeeping coach. A weird goalkeeper came to his team’s practice yesterday
Source: FinalSay
#36. In 2019, a mother won FIFA’s best fan award after she was spotted in the crowd explaining the entire match to her blind son.
Source: Scientiaetnatura065
#37. Shaq being a legend
Source: experiencedrs
#38. Actually made me smile.
Source: Bitter-Gur-4613
#39. Simone Biles wears a goat necklace after winning her second olympic All-Around Gold
Source: mcfw31
#40. Everything that is right with sports. CJ Leslie lifts Will Privette off of the floor after he was knocked from his wheelchair following the court being stormed.
Source: mrSeanyJ
From local fields to Olympic arenas, it turns out sports have a hidden superpower—it heals, unites, and quietly restores your faith in people. It’s more than just a game when someone gives up a win to help another stand. Or when a coach, teammate, or even a rival shows up for someone in a moment that truly mattered.
If you’re like me, you probably scrolled through this with a half-grin, a few goosebumps, and maybe even said, “Okay… that one got me.” Which moment made you pause the longest? Or reminded you of a time you saw something similar in real life?
Share it in the comments—and if you’ve ever witnessed or experienced a wholesome moment like these, we’d love to hear it. Because sometimes, a simple gesture in a game says more than the final score ever could.
