September 11

Nine years ago today the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by Islamist terrorists who hijacked 4 airplanes and turned them into missiles. Two of those planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; one was flown into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, PA before the plane could reach its believed destination in Washington.

There were many heroes that day and in the days that followed; firefighters, policemen, and other emergency response personnel risked and, many of them gave, their lives to save others; they ran into danger while everyone else ran from it; the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, the plane that crashed in Shanksville, who overtook their hijackers and brought the plane down before it could fly into a target in Washington; the 9,000 people of Gander, Newfoundland in Canada, where 38 planes were diverted while US airspace was closed, for showing hospitality to 7,000 people for 4 days; in addition, there were countless other heroes who deserve our thanks.

That day was one of the most tragic days in American history and should never be forgotten. It is a day everyone remembers where they were when they heard that we were under attack, much like December 7, 1941 when the United States was attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor, HI, and November 22, 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX. I remember watching the New York Giants lose to the Denver Broncos in Denver on Monday Night Football the previous night and then I turned on the TV the next morning to see smoke billowing out of one of the twin towers. If Monday Night Football had been on ESPN at the time (it was on ABC still), I'm not sure I would have known about the attacks when they were happening because I would have been watching SportsCenter while getting ready for class. I did not know classes were cancelled that day until I got on the bus, and after finding out classes were cancelled and the bus going about 50 feet I got off the bus and went back in to watch the TV coverage.

In light of the attacks, Major League Baseball and the National Football League did not play games in the week that followed. The NFL had played games the weekend after President Kennedy was assassinated and Commissioner Pete Rozelle called it the worst decision of his career. The commissioners in this case, baseball's Bud Selig and football's Paul Tagliabue, decided they should not play immediately afterward. However, soon sports were back on and provided a welcome distraction for the workers carrying out the rescue effort and digging out the rubble. There were big moments, like Mike Piazza's 8th inning 2-run home run to put the Mets ahead of the Braves 3-2 in the first game played in New York following the attacks.

Most importantly though, it is important to never forget the events of that day. Many people lost their lives that day in one of the worst events in American history and they should not be forgotten.