Baseball and Recovery

Sports are a very important part of American culture and in times of sadness and despair, the games that Americans love to watch become even more important. After times of tragedy, such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, sports have played a key role in the recovery of the nation. While sporting events were put to the side for awhile after 9/11, the games came back strong and help to unite the country. Fans and non-fans alike tuned in or attended sporting events to distract themselves from the pain of the horrific events of 9/11. The distinctly American game of baseball is the game that brought this country together more than any at that time.

Looking back on 9/11, amazingly now 5 years ago, all Americans can remember where they were when the tragedy occured. Whether you were at work, at school, at home, or wherever, you remember hearing and watching the events unfold before your eyes. Then with nothing else to do and unable to react, most Americans, including myself, watched coverage of the tragedy on TV, seeing the same thing over and over, always shocked as it happens. However, while most of us Americans were sitting and watching the events on TV, American heroes were out trying to save lives. In normal everyday life, most baseball fans look at the game's stars as heroes, but following 9/11, we had a little persepective. The first-responders who sacrafice their lives to help others are the true heroes of this country and we all saw that clearly after 9/11. The "baseball heroes" did not just sit back, however. Some of the game's biggest stars, Derek Jeter, Mike Piazza, and other New York Yankees and Mets went to Ground Zero, to try and cheer up the firefighters and rescue workers, as well as the mourning families still left searching for loved ones. They used their fame to help make things just a tiny bit brighter for those who were suffering greatly.

Baseball resumed on September 21, 2001 with an emotional game between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets at Shea Stadium in New York City. The sold out crowd, most with American flags, showed the world that America was not afraid of the terrorists and would not back down. The game was one that will be remembered by all, it is in many ways my most lasting memory of the days after 9/11, watching as grown men cried in the crowd during the National Anthem, and as the fans cheered for their Mets, forgetting for just a moment about the horror outside the stadium. The game ended with an eighth inning home run from Piazza, a fitting end to the game.

For the end of the 2001 season, the two New York baseball teams became "America's teams." With even some Boston fans admitting that they just could not root against the Yankees, not that they wanted them to win, but they wouldn't root against them. The Yankees went on a run to the World Series, which was one of the greatest post 9/11 stories. President George Bush threw out the first pitch of the Series in New York City, again sending the united message of no fear. America recovered from those tragic events of 9/11 and in many ways baseball helped that recovery along. It united this country around something uniquely American and helped distract us, if only for a moment, from the horrific events of that year.