As America Grieved, Sports Helped Console a Nation

This is why I think sports channels should be played in office waiting rooms and airports and wherever else. It's extremely stressful to listen to an opinionated news station at an airport, when you've survived going through security and flight delays. I find sports a calming diversion in these times of uncertainty.

There is a very moving documentary film produced I believe by HBO in 2004 and aired on that network about the conclusion of the 2001 Yankees season entitled “Nine Innings from Ground Zero.” Brielle Marie Saracini, her mother Ellen, and Derek Jeter were interviewed for the film and Brielle’s letter to Derek Jeter was read. Her mom said that after Derek Jeter had telephoned their home and spoken to Brielle her daughter ran upstairs and began to sing. Ms. Saracini said it was the first time since September 11th that Brielle had sang.

Outstanding! So glad to see this. When uppity culture snobs pooh-pooh public spending on sports stadiums and make snide remarks about the neglect of symphonies and opera halls, I always remind them of Mike Piazza's home run. Sports are not simply frivolous entertainment for drunken philistines. Sports are deeply ingrained in American culture, and especially during hardship, they're a meaningful and massively unifying aspect of our public life.

LIfelong Mets fan living in Miami at the time of the attacks. Remember constantly thinking "will life ever be normal ever again?". Remember watching that game against the Braves in my living room in Miami. It felt like mandatory television. Just to see people in Shea again made me feel good. My goodness when Piazza hit that home run - I don't think I screamed that loud when they won their last pennant! I pull up that clip maybe once a year or so. But even just thinking about it sitll makes the hair on my arms stand up - even 17 years later!

For me, I dislike the militarization and what I view as fake "patriotism" in sports. I haven't spent one dime or dollar on the NFL for 20 years and quit watching their games because of it. Baseball has been sliding down the same slope. I like the game, not propaganda. us army 1969-1971/caifornia jd

I wanted to provide some background for those who don't understand how meaningful sports was to some the citizens of New York during the days and weeks that followed 9-11-2001. I can't speak much for the Yankees since I don't follow them (although it's obvious by the Jeter letter, that they were on hand to help out), but as a Mets fan I can. Shea Stadium became a point of contact station of out of town rescuers and Red Cross personnel. Cots, supplies and food were on hand for those who were away from home helping out downtown. Members of the Mets drove carts and trucks full of supplies. They consoled the tired and shell shocked. The Mets were the first team to come back and play after 9-11. My dad (now deceased) and I bonded with season ticket holders who connected, asked if fellow Mets fans that worked near ground zero were okay. We saw police officers manning the field who when asked about their fallen brethren, choked back tears. Then...Mike Piazza. That home run. I can still see that white ball soar through that dark sky. We won. It was like a weigh of despair fell off our shoulders for a moment as we all rode the 7 Train from Queens to Times Square. Laughing. Singing with fellow NYC-ers and Mets fans, honoring those who died. I'm not a sports fan. Just baseball. It's a sport woven into the NYC neighborhood spirit. If you don’t get it, I’m sorry – because that night was special.

If you can, find footage of the late broadcaster Jack Buck speaking at St. Louis' Busch Stadium on 9/17/2001. An amazing tribute to heroes and sport.

Out-of-state 9/11 family member posting here. I /we were in NY often, flying back and forth over and over during those early months, but were searching for our loved one. Trying to get information on it all. Trying to get near the site. Looking for answers. Have to say, sporting events(!) didn't even register. Nothing did. It's a blank blur of years. I respect so much about the Memorial / Museum. Personally know and consider friends several key people on their staff. They do a difficult and excellent job overall. Many exhibits there over time have deeply resonant and powerful. The search dogs, for instance. The New Yorker covers of the Twin Towers over the years. This one, however, seems a bit more like 'let's sell more tickets' for a low-impact 'feel-good' experience. Not really how I see the Memorial's mission or its reason for being. It's interesting to me that of all the many aspects and exhibits at the Memorial over the years, while there have been some short and very thoughtful pieces written in the Times (and I've read them all), this sports one gets the full treatment: photos, big headline, etc. Maybe New Yorkers who were only tangentially associated with the event will get a lot out of this particular exhibit's 'common denominator' emphasis, as I would imagine the many totally clueless tourists from all over the US and the world, who simply wander through. For me, I'll stick to the heart of the matter. And can skip this exhibit.

As a Red Sox fan, I usually don't root for the Yankees. During the 2001 World Series though, I did.

September 11, 2001 was the first day of a two-week training class for me in Plano, Texas. A television and VCR used for training purposes was hastily converted for over air reception with wire coat hangers. The grainy and sometimes rolling images of the thick block smoke billowing from the burning North Tower are forever etched in my mind. You could see the fear in eyes of all the people in the facility after the second plane hit the South Tower. There was no mistake that this was a planned attack and not an accident. “Seventeen years later, it is impossible to forget the emotional release that was produced by the Mets catcher Mike Piazza when he hit the go-ahead, eighth-inning home run against the Atlanta Braves in the first major sporting event in New York City after a post-9/11 hiatus.” Even long time Met killer Chipper Jones would not deny the City on this night.

As a young teenager watching from Boston that fall, the 2001 World Series solidified my love for the New York Yankees . The emotion of those games in New York after such a tragedy was overwhelming... if only they had been able to celebrate a championship. But it gave people a channel through which to cheer for a city at its lowest point. As my dad wrote in a NYT letter to the editor shortly thereafter, the Yankees didn't win Game 7, but we couldn't say they failed.

"'Out of respect,' she wrote in a computer font that gave her letter a flowing script, “I would love if you would pay me a visit.” Interesting.

I was at a bar on the uws two days after 9/11 trying to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was not much of a celebration, given the circumstances. My brother pointed out Derek Jeter and Gerald Williams across the room. I wouldn't have done this under normal circumstances, but who could say what was 'normal' anymore? I went over to speak to them and they couldn't have been more gracious. Jeter even brought my friend a drink for her birthday and signed an autograph on a cocktail napkin. For a short time, we were all able to take our minds off what was happening all around us.

“Her one wish, she wrote, was to meet him. Derek Jeter called quickly and less than two weeks later Brielle, her sister, Kristen, and their mother, Ellen, were his guests at Yankee Stadium. They sat in his seats behind home plate and received two of his gloves as gifts.” “We made her smile, at least for today,” he said. So typical and so Derek Jeter. Thank you for this beautiful and moving article.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems in America today is that too much is viewed as a competition between sports teams, which is how the Constitution has come to be seen as nothing more profound than a banner for "Team America." How is it that republicans still support Trump? Because their team matters more than the nation.

While I respect the passion people have for sports, I think this entire exhibit it woefully overblown and ignores the large percentage of people who don't care about sports.

Sports is a diversion for those who have the time and inclination. However, I seriously doubt its provides any relief to the people who actually lost loved ones.

It was indeed a powerful time, especially the baseball season that fall. Sports did help provide a forum to both acknowledge and get a respite from the shock and grief the nation was feeling. And then, a short time later, amidst the trauma, the Bush administration lied to the world and led us into war in Iraq.