Can America Come
Out to Play?
Eric Courtney
Sept. 12, 2001 (revised Sept. 13, 2001)
Stadiums, racetracks,
and golf courses are barren today dueto the terrorist's shitcapade that ended
in New York, Washington DC, and rural Western Pennsylvania yesterday.
How Heartless bufoons with ridiculous beliefs can herd up
hundreds of innocent people and use them to kill thousands
more along with themselves is beyond me. That made me
mad.
What pisses me
off is the interruption of the sports world
due to the tragedy, and the failure to move on with our
lives. Let me clarify that my message is not just about
sports. It is about American pride and our ability to
continue down life's road without obstructions. Without
foreign interruptions bullying us around. Sports, however,
seems to be a unique scenario. It's a participation event;
moreover, entertainment. After the tragedy that we've
witnessed, a lot of people are saying entertainment is
secondary. Is it? From my observation thus far, most
people are choosing to entertain themselves by turning on
the television and watching multiple hours of the news
every day to follow the current mayhem instead of doing
something positive about it. The television has temporarily
turned into that road side wreck that you just have to slow
down and see as you're driving by. Yes the news keeps you
informed, but if it weren't for the sensationalized footage and
branding of the chaos "entertaining" you, your eyes wouldn't
be glued to the set for nearly as long! God bless those people
who are actually helping the victims, cleaning up the destruction,
and giving blood or donating goods. They are the ones choosing
to heal now! I'm also seeing American flags all over the place
now. That is awesome; unfortunately, they will soon slowly
disappear as they did shortly after the war in the Gulf. It's taken
a tragedy to unite us.
Why are sports
the only source of entertainment that is being
canceled or postponed? Maybe it's potential security hazards
due to large accumulations of people in one place. If this is the
case, maybe we shouldn't have any more sports as attendance
will always walk hand in hand with sporting events. Is it out
of respect to the victims who suffered from the tragedy? We've
mourned ever since it happened. We're still mourning. I'm not
saying we shouldn't mourn. Of course we should remember what
happened, but we can not hide and cry forever. The search and
cleanup of all areas that were hit will take months. If you are
willing to put your life on hold and cry until every particle of
dust has been swept up, you are going to weep for a long time.
Think the dead and injured want every day life to halt because
of them?
Think again.
I can understand
postponing sports events a day or two after
such a tragedy in respect to mourning, but cancellations and
postponements through the following weekend... Is our nation
that crippled that we can't get back to normalcy now? If the
weekend following the tragedy (four days) is not enough time
to go to a sporting event, how much time would be? 3 weeks
from now? How long should we wait or should I say hide?
I got news for you folks that are afraid for your safety... it will
be just as safe 3 months from now as it would be the weekend
following this atrocity. Furthermore, if sporting events were to
continue as nothing had happened, the odds of terrorists trying
to infiltrate our sporting venues is slim at best. Turn to just
about any channel on your television and you'll see the carnage.
You'll see the hatred in the American people's faces. You will
also hear the threats of "no mercy" from politicians like Senator
John McCain. Guess what folks... Terrorists watch CNN and
NBC too. A hypothetical situation; If you new security would
be beefed up everywhere in the country, would you attempt
an encore to the destruction of the World Trade Center days
earlier? The unfortunate truth of the matter is that the more
comfortable we get going to any event, the more vulnerable
we become to terrorist attacks. I feel sorry for any poor sap
that tried to sneak a bomb into the The Network Associates
Coliseum in Oakland full of proud Raiders rooting Americans
a week after the tragedy. I take that back. I wouldn't feel sorry.
If terrorism
is going to exist in the US, we're going to have to
live with it. Our only alternative is living in fear, abolishing
sports and other entertainment altogether, and barricade our
homes. I look twice when I cross the road, always have, but
I don't plan on hiding from terrorists for the rest of my life.
I was watching
ESPN tonight, and I could not believe how
much fear was displayed by some commentators, coaches,
and other personalities. Bobby Bowden, Florida State's
Head Football Coach, couldn't make up his mind on whether
it was a good idea to field his team or not, maybe he should
have just kept his mouth shut! Yesterday he mentioned "the
need to come together and move on," today he said "how can
you cheer at a football game?" Well I for one can cheer! I'm
American and proud! I'm tired of watching the death and
destruction. Time to change the channel, man!
I do sympathize,
however, with those people involved in sports
who have lost loved ones to the tragedy. They are the ones
who need to take time off and tend to family needs. No fan
will condemn them for that. If fans do, they are bigger morons
than the hijackers themselves. If you're an athlete, shaken from
the incident, and you don't want to play just because your mind
wouldn't be into the game/event, welcome to the rest of the
working class people who have worked every day since the
tragedy and make much less money than you do.
Apparently, some
athletes are afraid to fly so soon. Everyone
is, but it will hardly stop us from doing it. I can confidently
say that the safest day to fly will be the day the airports
open back up for business after the FAA grounded all flights.
Sure it will take longer to get on an aircraft, and you may get
strip searched in the process, but it will be as safe as it was
before the tragedy. Even safer.
I love sports,
but I am not trying to be selfish. I am making a
point. We can not shut the country down because a bunch of
idiots carried out a very stupid plan. We as a nation can not
let others dictate how we live our lives. Unfortunately, that
is what we are currently doing. It is time to come out of our
hiding places and carry on with our lives. The longer we hide,
the more successful this recent act of war becomes.
Yes sports are
just games, just entertainment, just something that
brings joy to many people. So how long should we stew in our
own sorrow before we decide on a game day? The tragedy is
indeed a shame, but it is time to quit crying America! It's time
to unite; it's time to play ball!
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