I wish I were an English native to write this piece properly.
I work as a sports writer, love basketball, boxing is my hobby. And Bruce Springsteen is there, whatever I do.
As a writer, I found in his songs the best stories I could ever dream to write by myself.
As a basketball fan, I found the essence of what a franchise player should act on and off the court.
As a boxing novice, anytime I step in the ring, or jumping the rope, I remember that “stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive if you can” line from “This Hard Land”, arguably my favorite song for several reasons. It reminds me a lot of my hometown in Sicily, where there are too much of seeds that nobody know what happened to. That transformed one of the most beautiful places of this world in a very “hard land” to live, to believe, to fight for.
I would love to be good the half as Bruce is in telling and sharing stories that can represent anyone everywhere in the world. Just a few, simple pics of common daylife that everybody has to deal with, no matter how rich, how good you are. We’re just fighting the same fight: be good men, good brothers, good parents, no matter where and when our journey starts.
We just think about doing good what WE can control on a daily basis. It’s about making our part in our own history. It’s about not giving anybody else the chance to decide our final destination.
As a basketball player, Springsteen should be a perfect point guard: it’s all about making the right decision, calling the right play, making sure that everybody in your team feels comfortable with his role and making the crowd believe that you are in control. Bruce does it everytime and everywhere he goes, and for those who remember the amazing performance he made in Florence [We should remember it as the”Who Can Stop the Rain” night, my “brothers” Gianmaria and Massimo were there] you know that he will never give up until his job is done. And his job is actually to make people feel good, feel better, feel proud of what they are.
I don’t know if he would agree with my interpretation of what the Bruce Springsteen nights mean to me. But I do think that there’s not only one Springsteen for everybody. He just found a common language to talk about our stories, that are very different and very similar at the same time. That’s why everybody has his/her songs, concerts, performances and memories.
Today I feel blessed because I actually found the way to share my Springsteen feelings in Milan with my favorite friends and the girl I love. Then I made it in Paris with my brother, in his very first Bruce Springsteen concert appearence.
Today, I just feel proud and happy. That’s the sense of being here, I guess. See you in Rome, everybody.
Ugly Sister 