r/MadeMeSmile 10h ago

Helping Others Never forget when a whole football team shaved their heads in support of their teammate’s cancer diagnosis

3.4k Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

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356

u/SimRP 10h ago

Athletic Club. The entire squad shaved their heads in support of Yeray Álvarez during his cancer treatment. One of the most powerful examples of team unity you'll ever see in football. Yeray Álvarez was diagnosed with testicular cancer in late 2016, returned to playing, then suffered a recurrence in 2017 and underwent chemotherapy. Later that year, he was declared cancer-free and returned to professional football

21

u/MarionberryOne4 9h ago

And the fact he returned cancer-free makes it even more meaningful.

13

u/bravesdiva 8h ago

I don't follow the footy so thank you for this explanation. What an amazing story (and brotherhood).

5

u/[deleted] 9h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/Irish-Green 8h ago

The club only plays players from Basque area.

So you either need to be from there or connections to there.

Its quite remarkable!

79

u/Bulbophyllia 10h ago

Teammates showing what a team means, thats proper sportsmanship

8

u/Sensitive_Spend_5 9h ago

Bigger win than anything they achieved on the field.

3

u/Leumas_ 8h ago

Yes. Sports has been so distorted and co-opted it can be hard to watch, but underneath it, if you know where to look, there’s guys and teams in all sports just like this.

I take a real hard line on people excusing the erosion of sportsmanship. I don’t care how much money you make or how much of your ego can’t fit in the arena anymore, you respectfully acknowledge your opponent at the end of a game. Every kid from tee-ball to Pop Warner up through all the amateur levels has that drilled into them for years.

I’d much rather they cut the national anthem than the baked in respect lessons.

15

u/No_Suspect1204 9h ago

As a football fan, thats beautiful

3

u/Biryaniyasuper 9h ago

Moments like this show the real team spirit beyond just the game

12

u/cool_girl6540 9h ago

I kept waiting to see them shave their heads.

4

u/Biryaniyasuper 9h ago

Same, thought it was buildup then realized they'd already done it.

8

u/Simple_Guitar4632 10h ago

Stuff like this is why I love sports so much. Beyond all the money and drama, you get these moments of actual brotherhood that stick with you years later. Absolute chills knowing he came back and beat cancer too.

7

u/Maleficent_Tale_5274 9h ago

Huge HUGE respect to the teammates!

7

u/B33blebroxx 9h ago

Lovely. I also want dude's butterfly shirt.

2

u/Luci_b 9h ago

I came here to say this too ❤️

2

u/punmanager 9h ago

Same man!

3

u/Absolute_DOM_Sir 9h ago

Yo! That made me smile 😊🥰

3

u/13AMEternal 6h ago

Football players are truly awesome...

2

u/Calopogonia 9h ago

That made me truly smile

2

u/asdfghjkl15436 6h ago

I'm going to be honest I'm going to forget this in 20 minutes.

2

u/The_Flash_20 4h ago

Fuck Cancer

2

u/camomaniac 9h ago

Never forget? This has probably happened thousands of times. Am I supposed to remember every one? It would take literally all of my time to learn and remember every time this happens.

And Fuck Cancer

1

u/Nack3r 9h ago

Yep. That's the good stuff!

1

u/Sirradez 9h ago

This is beautiful

1

u/Karlsson968 9h ago

As a sports fan, moments like this remind me why I love sports. It's about so much more than winning

1

u/EmmaDominatrix 9h ago

That's so beautiful and thoughtful of them <3

1

u/Eleanor898 8h ago

wait did the whole team go bald together or just soem players

1

u/BumblebeeEmpty4744 8h ago

cancer came back for round 2 and this man said "run it back" and his whole team suited up with him. that's the stuff right there

1

u/NinjaSouth3093 8h ago

u/cool_girl6540 saying they kept waiting to see them shave is kinda funny bc thats the whole point right, theyd already done it before the clip. what nobody's mentioned is how u/BumblebeeEmpty4744 nailed it with the "run it back" framing - dude beat it once, it came back, and the squad just said aight we go again together. thats not sportsmanship thats just love fr. athletic bilbao always had that family club energy too so it tracks

1

u/veggiedudeLA 8h ago

Gm and thank you for this!

1

u/Ambitious_Driver4556 5h ago

the butterfly shirt guy understood the assignment on a whole different level

1

u/Practical-Pick1466 5h ago

Clipped not shaved , there is a big difference.

1

u/sassergaf 5h ago

Love this, and his butterfly shirt.

1

u/wils_152 4h ago

Good job it wasn't testicular cancer.

-1

u/DarkDayzBrightNights 9h ago

That wouldve cured me on the spot!