The thing about teammates is that we are all thrown together to achieve a common goal. We need each other if any of us are going to get what we want. We need to support each other, love each other, and do whatever we need to all achieve what we need. So it almost seems a selfish kind of love.

But the fact is that it’s the opposite.

You get to know your teammates. You get to know that if it hadn’t been for the team, you may have never even known these people, let alone been friends with them. Maybe you don’t have the same beliefs, or come from the same place. Maybe you’re actually a little shy, but on the field, with teammates who have to love you, you can let loose and be yourself.

And the next thing you know, you’re bringing a cranky teammate a yum bowl, helping a jobless one find work, driving an injured one to the hospital, offering her a place to stay.

It’s awesome.

Teammates are better than friends because they maybe wouldn’t have been your friends in the first place, and then you love them like family. Unconditionally.