Kind of out of left field, but the D3 connection made it worth posting.
The NIFL (Northern Ireland’s top division) doesn’t have the same commercial appeal as the Premier League or La Liga, but provides fans with the universal football emotions. YouTube channel The Peakys (formerly Peaky Bannsiders) was started by Niall Quinn, a supporter of Coleraine FC who wanted to chronicle his match day adventures with his eight year old son. I stumbled upon it a few months ago and it’s a lot of fun.
This past weekend, Coleraine played in the NIFL League Cup final, and Wisconsin-Whitewater coach Tony Guinn (a native of NI who was at the match) ran into the channel’s creator. Guinn lost his son Shaymus at age 11 to bone cancer, but wanted to thank Quinn for providing some level of joy for him to see another father being able to do what he never got the chance to. The interaction was featured in the
Belfast Telegraph this morning. I can’t imagine what it is like to be in that position, but also pretty incredible that he has kept going on the sidelines for UWW in the decade since.
https://belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/coleraine-fc-vloggers-emotional-exchange-with-bereaved-dad-who-found-joy-in-father-son-videos/812832084.html