2,977.
That’s how many Americans were killed on September 11, 2001. That’s over 500 more than the number of deaths at Pearl Harbor. It’s the most deadly attack our nation has ever been hit with from a foreign enemy.
Image credit: Doug Kanter/AFP/Getty Images via Boston.com
I’m sure you, like me, remember exactly where you were when you got the news. Maybe you were driving in the car or at your desk at work. For millions of us, we got the news from a teacher at school…while we were surrounded by our closest friends.
Being a sports fan is an awesome, yet often confusing experience. The most awkward moments often come when we realize that sports, at the end of the day, just don’t really matter that much.
Don’t get me wrong, I think sports are important. Like it or not, there are few things in this country that can universally lift us up or bring us down like athletic events. Just ask viewers of last week’s Women’s World Cup Final, who shared the agony of that defeat, or spectators of Jason Lezak’s amazing comeback in the Olympics, who rejoiced in unison.
But there are always those weird epiphanies – usually following a tough loss – where we realize that sports just really don’t matter. As awesome as it was to watch the Dallas Mavericks beat the Heat, Jeter chase 3,000 hits, and Phelps break all those records, none of those events would even come close to making a list of our nation’s 100 most important moments.
To be honest, the first time I ever had one of those moments was on September 11, 2001. To my undying shame, I have to acknowledge that the first thought I had that day was, “Oh great, they better not cancel our soccer game tonight.” When you’re 14, life is only as important as the next big event in your own schedule. But as the day stretched on, and we all crammed into the English room to watch it unfold on those tiny televisions, we all realized that something much bigger than sports was happening.
I will never forget that day.
I don’t think any of us ever will.
And that is precisely why the NFL should not be opening up its season on September 11 of this year.
Jon Washburn @The_Dr_Twitch
