[CroFlames]

@ textcritic


There are tons of modern day stories in traditional sports. Take this very recent article:
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/europe/spo...HoR?li=BBJGm0S

His grandfather was killed by Serb forces, the house was burned and the family fled to the coastal town of Zadar, some 40 kilometres (19 miles) away.
"I heard about a little hyperactive boy constantly playing with a football in the corridor of a refugee hotel, even going to sleep with it," said Josip Bajlo, who was then the first-team coach at the First Division club NK Zadar, where Modric began to make a name for himself as a brilliant player.

Brazilians are almost famous for their countless extreme poverty to riches stories:
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...s-9432245.html

The situation is reflected in Brazil's current World Cup squad, many of whom had extremely difficult lives growing up. The early life of Daniel Alves, for example, could hardly be further removed from the majestic splendour of the Camp Nou in Barcelona. Alves grew up in the harsh sertao (the parched back lands) of the state of Bahia. "I'm really proud of my life story," he told Brazil's TV station Globo recently. "I know how hard my life was. I know about real life." As a child, Alves would help his father, a poor farmer, pick melons. "He would get up at 5am to work, so I would get up at 5am to work too," said the player.