Sir Kevin Sinfield and Rob Burrow’s friendship became one of the prime highlights of the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year on Wednesday night.
Sinfield and Burrow are both Rugby League stars already, but they have won over a whole new legion of fans for their fundraising efforts for motor neurone disease (MND).
Burrow was diagnosed with the disease in 2019, two years after retiring.
He has been calling for better funding to cure the disease ever since, including leading a £5 million appeal to build a new centre for MND in Leeds.
Sinfield, inspired by his friend, has also raised £2.7 million for MND by running seven ultra marathons in a week, and has raised more than £7 million for the cause since Burrow’s diagnosis.
When Burrow received the Helen Rollason Award and Sinfield received a special BBC award during Wednesday’s show, there was a standing ovation from the crowd.
On stage with his wife Lindsey and Sinfield, a tearful Burrow said: “I’m inspired to keep going by my friend Kevin Sinfield, the guy who makes the impossible possible and my family as a whole how have put their lives on on hold to care for me.
“Especially my beautiful wife Lindsey and my amazing kids. Lindsey did not expect to sign up for this but she puts me first and foremost. I’m not here without her sacrifice.
“Lastly this is for all the MND warriors out there, we will not stop with finding a cure. Thanks for all your help.”
Sinfield was also emotional as he accepted his award, saying: “Rob is probably the most inspirational bloke in the UK. He has inspired us to be better friends.
“In sport and certainly in rugby, the connections you make, the friends don’t just stop when the whistle goes. Sport is powerful enough to bring communities together.”
He also took aim at the government saying: “What we witnessed was a nation that cared about the MND community. MND isn’t incurable, it’s just underfunded. We’ve got to keep fighting. We will keep banging the drum.”
The pair’s words clearly struck a chord with both the audience watching the BBC programme live and those at home, judging from the Twitter reaction.
The pair were also awarded the freedom of Leeds, the city’s highest civic honour, this week due to the friends’ “courage, commitment and inspirational strength of character”.
Leeds City Council said: “Rob’s response to his diagnosis was typically positive and selfless, with the last three years seeing him championing the raising of funds and awareness for all those affected by the disease.
“Kevin meanwhile has followed his old friend’s lead by embarking on a series of gruelling endurance challenges that have raised millions of pounds for MND-related causes.”