What these soccer fans did after terrifying explosions will restore your faith in humanity
What should have been a festive occasion turned scary when a Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco was postponed Tuesday after three explosive devices blew up near the German side's bus.
But what happened next showed the powerful potential of the human spirit.
The quarterfinal match between host Dortmund and visiting Monaco was postponed after three explosions rocked the Dortmund bus as the team prepared to drive to the stadium to get ready for kick-off. Just one player suffered minor injuries, but a fourth explosive device was reportedly found near the team's hotel.
Per The Guardian, a police spokesman said authorities were treating the incident as a "targeted attack on Borussia Dortmund’s team," while Dortmund police said via Twitter that, "after initial investigation, we assume that this was an attack with serious explosives."
The match was rescheduled for Wednesday night -- but many Monaco fans who traveled to Dortmund for the showdown found themselves having to adjust on the fly.
Then a hashtag began popping up on Twitter: #bedforaway fans, meant to connect stranded Monaco supporters with places to crash.
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Borussia Dortmund's official Twitter account even helped spread the word.
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Soon after, photos began popping up of soccer fans -- some wearing Dortmund jerseys, others in Monaco shirts -- enjoying impromptu sleepovers that transcended team allegiances.
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If soccer fans ran the world, perhaps we'd all be a little better off.
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
