An Outside View: One year later

One year ago today, America came face-to-face with terror. A stunned nation witnessed the horror unfolding live on television. We watched in disbelief as that second plane slammed into the World Trade Center. We heard reports that the Pentagon had been hit and that another plane was down somewhere in Pennsylvania. We watched as the twin towers, which once stood proudly atop the majestic New York City skyline, were reduced to a pile of rubble. The world as we knew it changed forever that day. There was anger. There was fear. There was confusion. How could someone do such a tragic thing in the name of God? Why? Why? Why? Even today, a year later, the answers do not satisfy. The horrific events of that day trivialized the importance of sports in our world. Suddenly, the Vols versus Gators didn’t evoke the same passions. The young NFL season that had started with such promise lost its luster. The baseball pennant races no longer mattered and no one seemed to care about Jeff Gordon’s pursuit of the Winston Cup Championship. The games were cancelled and for a while we put sports out of our minds while our nation mourned. Gone was the crack of the bats, the thud of shoulder pads, and the roaring of racecar engines. Cheering crowds were replaced by tearful memorial services. Our nation fought back and called on the sports world to help start the healing process. Sports have served our nation well during times of war, economic depressions, and social unrest. The sports world was now being asked to lend its healing touch in perhaps our darkest hour. The games returned but they weren’t the same. Oh sure, there were some electrifying moments. Who will forget Barry Bonds breaking Mark McGwire’s home run record or Randy Johnson in the World Series? What about the Big Orange’s unlikely victory in the Swamp? And then there was the Hollywood-like performance of Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. These games helped us escape momentarily, but it just wasn’t the same. A battle on the field of play paled in comparison to our nation’s war on terrorism. We watched the games but saw those towers tumbling down. We seemed embarrassed by that sports-are-everything mentality that was once so prevalent. We learned a tough lesson about real heroes. We may idolize our favorite players and elevate them to superhero status but they are not heroes. They are talented athletes having fun playing a game. They serve a purpose and we value them but they are not heroes. Throwing a 98 mile per hour fastball doesn’t make you a hero. Hitting 73 homeruns doesn’t make you a hero. Leading your team to a Super Bowl title doesn’t make you a hero. We learned that the true heroes are those firefighters who went into the burning towers to save the lives of others. Heroes are those people on Flight 93 who sacrificed their own lives to prevent the terrorists from killing other innocent people on the ground. Heroes are the men and women in the military who went to Afghanistan to fight the war on terrorism. There were no cheers from adoring fans for these real heroes. The sports world is still feeling the effects of 9-11. Some good and some bad. We are thankful that we still live in a country where we are free to enjoy watching our favorite teams play. Maybe we appreciate that freedom just a little bit more than we did a year ago. Of course, there is the increased security at all of our stadiums that can be inconvenient. We can no longer take backpacks or coolers and fans understand that their belongings are subject to search by security personnel. Gone from the skies in many cases are those small planes that used to tow signs for the fans to read. But worse than that is the lost innocence. We are all guilty of looking around ourselves and we are a bit more suspicious of certain people. Even though the games have returned, America is a different place today than it was a year ago. Hopefully, we are a better place and a stronger nation, a country where sports have a role, but we have a better understanding of the things that really matter.