Fabrice Muamba: The beauty of a simple picture

@fmuamba/Twitter

I couldn't help but to smile from ear to ear this morning upon seeing that this picture of Fabrice Muamba that had been just recently posted on Muamba's Twitter account only minutes prior. Yes, he still has some way to go in his recovery, and who can even begin to speculate about the future of his playing career, but all of that is so absolutely irrelevant at the moment. What matters is that this man pictured above, he who was technically dead for 78 minutes after falling into cardiac arrest on the pitch at White Hart Lane before medical personnel, thanks to their absolutely tireless work, brought him back to life, will be able to continue his life with his fiancee Shauna and he will be able to watch his young son Josh grow up and maybe even follow in his own footballing footsteps. There's a world out there for them to all continue experiencing together, and every moment will surely be that much more beautiful now.

The old cliche is that a picture is worth a thousand words, but wow, this picture is worth so much more than that. It's the representation of the millions and millions of outpourings of support Muamba has received, and it's the representation of the tears of joy that fans around the world will surely shed upon seeing Muamba's smiling face today. That it means so much is yet another sign of the bond that soccer creates between all of us, and through that bond we are all united in longing to see the day when Fabrice Muamba is well enough to leave that London hospital, hand in hand with his young family.