One result of that variety and mass appeal is that sports are able to showcase a multitude of tributes this weekend.
Ten years ago, The United States of America suffered through the darkest day in our nation's history.
We will never forget.
I will forever remember September 11. I remember driving to classes at Angelo State University when the idiot hosts on our local radio shows broke the news and, before all the facts were in, cracked jokes about the end of the world. I sometimes wonder what those people feel like after the massive tragedy that unfolded. How do they look in the mirror? At first, all they knew, and all I knew, was that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I remember going to the computer lab in between my first two classes and being unable to access any of the news websites because of the overload. Only after my second class, when I got to the University Center and saw the TV coverage, did I finally find out what had happened. I remember watching the rest of the days events unfurl in horror just like everyone else. The second plane, the first tower collapse, the second tower collapse, the dancing and cheering in the streets by animals in foreign countries that were overjoyed at our nation's pain and suffering. I shouldn't call them animals. That is too much credit. I remember the most soul shaking thing to me personally was hearing that the murderers had specifically selected cross country flights so that the planes would be carrying the most fuel and thus cause more damaging explosions. See, at that time, my Dad's job was in Montreal, Quebec. (We live in West Texas.) He regularly flew from Dallas to Chicago or Montreal and back. Had the targets been different, it could have easily been his plane that was selected.
I remember.
Remember...
Remember the thousands of innocent citizens who perished needlessly.
Remember the heroes of the various police, fire, and rescue departments who either gave or risked their lives to save others that day.
Remember the courageous men and women who fought the terrorists, took back the plane that eventually crashed in Pennsylvania, and saved thousands of other lives.
Remember the men and women who served or still serve in all of the branches of our military as they fight to keep us free and safe.
We all remember.
Thus the aforementioned tributes by various sports leagues and teams. Yesterday, several NASCAR teams ran special red, white, and blue paint schemes at Richmond. Some NFL players will be wearing patriotic shoes and gloves today. Around Major League Baseball, the song sung during the seventh inning stretch will be God Bless America. There will be commemorative patches, ribbons, and stickers worn everywhere. And you know the NFL will have some very stirring pregame and halftime performances.
All of these are tremendous sports gestures. They are part of never forgetting. You see, I think sports are a barometer of sorts. They kind of measure our people's reactions to different events. When tens of thousands of individuals are able and willing to join together in one place for one event, it shows that our people feel safe. When those gathered masses sing The Star Spangled Banner in unison and cheer loudly for our armed forces, it shows that our people are grateful for and respectful of our military and its members. Most importantly, when those multitudes all join in a solemn moment of silence and prayer, it shows that our people have not forgotten.
Still, there is one thing that is sure to be mentioned multiple times on a day like this. I feel certain it will come up more than once in games like the one between the football teams representing New York City and Washington D.C. That is that in the days, weeks, and months following the events of September 11, 2001, sports helped our nation to heal.
The problem is that, even for the biggest fan like myself, sports cannot and do not heal anything. They just don't. They are just contests with no true effect on our day to day existence. They do not, ultimately, matter at all. If sports did not exist at all, I know that our nation would have joined together in unity anyway. We would have hurt together anyway. We would have healed anyway. Why? Because we gather our strength as a nation from true sources of healing, not from a game.
Immediately following the tragedy ten years ago, we didn't turn to sports for healing. We turned to God, our families, our churches, our friends, and our neighbors. That's the way it should be. That is where the healing started. That is where strength begins.
We will never forget.
We continue to move forward, but we still look back and remember. America continues to heal.
It's just not because we watched a sporting event. It is because of our faith, our families, and our friends. Those are the truly meaningful things in life.
That sport on the TV...that is nothing but a game.
Where were you on September 11, 2001?
Scripture: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10
Quote: "This week there will be plenty of solemn and important reflections on the events of 9/11. There will also be those who tell us that after the attacks and the horrible loss of life, sports somehow helped us heal. But, sports didn’t heal anybody that fall. If you want to say they provided a fleeting diversion, I’ll agree, just as movies and books, and reruns of Seinfeld surely did. Sports are not unimportant in the U.S. and in the world. They are part of the fabric of our societies. But especially this week, let’s resist whatever urge there might be to overstate their significance in the aftermath of 9/11." - Jeremy Schaap
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