In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, every individual searches for something to help ease the everyday stresses we all experience.

For many, the release is sports.

For a few hours, sporting events helps remove all of the worries and struggles one faces, and transforms the individual from worrying about day to day issues into a sports fan, who is looking for some sort of salvation from the pressures of life, even if for a short time.

Regardless of whatever sport they may be following, for four quarters, nine innings, two halves, or twenty six miles, that fan has found an escape from their stresses, even if for a short time, and it is an important part of the fabric of who we are.

This searching for an escape is what makes the tragedy at the Boston Marathon all the more horrible.

Imagine you are in the stands, or on the street, at this event, celebrating Patriots’ Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts. Cheering on your friends, loved ones, or simply enjoying the holiday by watching an American tradition. The runners are crossing the finish line after nearly four hours of running. Cheering them on, you watch them celebrate finishing this epic race.

And then, out of nowhere, chaos:

 

It is a scary, senseless act that reminds us that events like this can happen anywhere, at any time, and in a split second, snaps us back from our attempt to find some peace, and brings us back to reality.

My own escape from the day to day pressures of life is in the Green Bay Packers. Regardless of what is happening in my own life, I know that reading articles about the team or watching video on them will offer a brief respite from everyday life. It is something that I am grateful to have.

Going to a game at Lambeau Field is something that all Packers fans should experience. It is the ultimate escape from everyday, and for 3-5 hours on game day, the stadium and surrounding areas transform from a normal mid size town into a party thrown for 100,000 plus fans. It is truly a sight to see.

When the Packers introduced increased security in 2011, many people, including me, saw this as an inconvenience. Security lines stretched deep into the parking lot as patrons were wanded and checked, one at a time, to ensure the safety of everyone attending the game. It delayed the start of the reason we were all there: to escape from our daily pressures, and support our favorite team.

Slowly, fans make their way up to the security stations. Thirty minutes, maybe forty five, waiting in line, just to get into Lambeau. It seems like an unnecessary step, doesn’t it?

Events like the Boston Marathon bombing remind us why such precautions are taken, in gruesome and horrifying fashion.

At any time, and at any place, an event like the one Boston experienced yesterday could happen again, anywhere.

Any extra steps the team I choose to support, the one I choose to see play live, is fine with me.

It is a scary world we live in. When something as seemingly innocent as a sporting event has become a target for terror in the middle of the day in a major city. The spectators were doing nothing more than supporting the runners, an escape from their everyday lives, if only for a few hours. And in seconds, their lives were changed. Forever.

It reminds us that even in places we use to escape, reality is never that far away.

Pray for Boston. Pray for the victims. Pray for their families.

John Rehor is a  staff writer at PackersTalk.com and co-host of Cheesehead Radio. To contact John follow him on Twitter @jrehor or email johnrehor@yahoo.com