. Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 06:06:16 -0400 From: richard crepeau <crepeau1@xxxxxxx> Subject: Sport and Society 9/11 Anniversary . .These two pieces were written ten years ago following the events of September 11th. On this tenth anniversary of those events I thought I would send these out once again without comment. Dick Crepeau
. . SPORT AND SOCIETY FOR H-ARETE September 18, 2001 . One week ago at about this time sitting in the mountains of North Carolina doing some writing and listening to classical music on the radio, I was distracted by a special news bulletin. The announcer said there had been what appeared to be an attack on the World Trade Center in New York. I quickly moved to turn on the television and was struck by a sense of total disbelief at what I saw. . Since then, like most of you, I have watched more television, listened to radio, and read newspapers trying to absorb the enormity of what has happened. I still have not been able to grasp all of this, and still do not have a very good sense of what this will mean for the United States and the world over the long haul. . I have also tried to come to some conclusions about where Sport resides in this complexity of issues and events. Over the past week as people in the sports industry have tried to make decisions on the appropriate response, I must say I do not envy them that responsibility as my own thoughts on the matter have gone back and forth. To make these decisions while still numb from the events is even more difficult, and to make them when considerations other than appropriateness come into play adds to the difficulty. . There has been a great deal of discussion about historical precedence and I must say I have not found this to be particularly helpful. The Kennedy assassination led to a cancellation of all sports events other than the National Football League. Having been out of the country at the time I never have had a full appreciation of the intensity of feeling that swept the country and the role television played in the process. I always was amazed that someone as smart as NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle could have made a decision to play on that Sunday. Now, having lived through something similar I am simply astounded that anyone would have even hesitated before canceling the games two days after the assassination of the president. . The other precedent that is sighted is the situation of baseball after Pearl Harbor. Again this is not particularly helpful because several months passed between the attack and the first baseball game. . The letter that President Roosevelt sent major league baseball asking that baseball continue has been sighted over and over again. In fact it was much more complicated than it appears. Before and after Pearl Harbor, baseball owners operating through Clark Griffith in Washington were lobbying the President and his cabinet to exempt baseball players from the draft as they worried about their investment. The owners feared that baseball might not be allowed to continue and were desperate to get some reassuring sign from Washington. The White House itself saw baseball people as a nuisance and was irritated by the lobbying. The impression that FDR on his own initiative requested a continuation of baseball, and that baseball owners were patriots in keeping their entertainment business open simply stretches all credulity. . So what to do in this case? . It is clear that the NFL played the key role in this decision, and it is clear that their initial reaction up through Wednesday was to play on the weekend as baseball was inclined to do. This decision could have been justified, especially on the grounds that the President had asked people to try to get back to their normal routines. . It would appear that two factors changed that decision. The first was the logistics of air travel. It would have been difficult to get everyone involved in a game to the venue, let alone provide enough security. Second, and perhaps most important, a number of players let it be known that they were not playing; some out of a sense of what they felt was appropriate, some because they feared getting on an airplane at this point, and some because they felt it more important to be with family. . To try to force people to play under these circumstances would have been too much. One-sixteenth of your regular season revenue is a big piece of change, even more than they would have to pay refs if they agreed to their terms, but compared to the losses elsewhere in the nation NFL officials did not want to mention economic considerations. . When the NFL cancelled Major League Baseball could not play on Sunday, even though they were ready to play on Friday night. So the World Series will be another week later and they can hope for a late winter. . As for college football, they will find a way to get these games in sometime, somehow, no matter how much class time is lost. I must say I couldn't see teams traveling coast to coast under these circumstances and considering that the airports and airlines would not be back to normal. . My own view is that the pros could have played, and perhaps should have played, on the weekend. College games requiring only limited travel, i.e. non-air, should have gone forward as well. Small colleges and high schools did play and these became occasions for community mourning and communal expressions of patriotism. The emotional draining of the nation certainly would have benefited from some relief from the replays and round the clock discussion of Tuesday's tragedy. . When baseball resumed its schedule last night the ceremonies in the ballparks, which will continue tonight, were moving, appropriate, and necessary. These could have been equally effective on Friday night or Sunday, but certainly nothing was lost by waiting. . What remains to be seen is the longer-term affects on sport, especially if the economy should go into a tailspin and if the atmosphere of war takes up permanent residence. . On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't need to be a good sport to be a bad loser. . Copyright 2001 by Richard C. Crepeau . ----------------------------------------------- . SPORT AND SOCIETY FOR H-ARETE September 24, 2001 . If there was any doubt about the significance of sport in American life this past weekend should put those doubts to rest. The events of Friday night in New York at Shea Stadium alone were a reminder of just how sport can bring a community together, sometimes to celebrate and sometimes to mourn. In this case to do both. . Pre-game ceremonies at Shea Stadium, like those in many baseball parks all through last week, paid tribute to those who died in the attacks of September 11 and to those whose heroism became nearly ordinary in the midst of the crisis. The twenty-one-gun salute and the other tributes were a moving reminder of what had transpired, and the fireman, policeman and rescue worker hats being worn by the Mets are a constant reminder of the heroism of those who put their lives on the line in public service. The singing of "Amazing Grace" once again showed why it is the most important song of hope ever written in the Western world. . Diana Ross sang the national anthem and this too offered a reminder of just how much things had changed in less than two weeks. It was Ross who had sung an overblown version of the anthem at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship prior to the Saturday night historic women's final. In that rendition Ross was clearly the star, while Friday night the song itself along with the occasion was the center of attention. It has also been pointed out that many present that night at the U.S Open were likely victims of the attack in New York. . The seventh-inning stretch rendition of "New York, New York" by Liza Minnelli was a bit too rousing for some tastes, but again the backup dance line of firemen and policemen somehow saved the moment. Throughout the night the place was full of emotion as even Mayor Guiliani, a Yankee fan, took part in this communal ceremony of mourning and gratitude. . As if to underline the occasion the game itself gave the fans everything they could have wanted and more. Trailing late in the game Mike Piazza hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to propel the Mets to a 3-2 win. It was better than the World Series, and according to Todd Zeile this game was more important than any World Series game the Mets have played. . Mets players donated their salaries for that night, no small sum indeed, to the fund to support the survivors of city workers who lost their lives in this catastrophe. Mets fans went home having experienced the joy of victory, but more importantly having taken part in a community exercise of hope in the face of disaster. . And of course it wasn't just baseball that provided the occasion for community expressions of unity and patriotism. The NFL is both very good and generally excessive in these moments of national patriotic expression. The opening of each game was the same with the singing of "America the Beautiful" televised into the stadiums and across the country from the streets of New York. This was followed by a moment of silence at each stadium and then the singing of the national anthem. . The size of the flag on the field seemed to get bigger at each venue, while the singing of the anthem evoked a variety of emotions among both players and fans. In the stands NFL fans who are experts in costume design outdid themselves as they dressed in as many forms of the red, white and blue as could be imagined. Despite this excess it did seem that for the first time in memory the national anthem had the undivided attention of everyone in the stadium. . Perhaps the best tribute of all came in New England, where the Patriot's Joe Andruzzi was joined for the coin toss by his father and three brothers as Patriot co-captains for the game against the New York Jets. Andruzzi's father is a retired New York City detective and his three brothers are New York firemen who were deeply involved in the events of September 11. It is now clear that in this crisis it is the heroism of firemen that is the worthiest role model for all Americans. It is they, and not our athletes, who need to be shown to the community for emulation. In New England on Sunday that was underlined. . In addition to the NFL and Major League Baseball, Saturday brought the return of college football. At hundreds of games involving hundreds of thousands of fans in an atmosphere that is unique to college football, there was another opportunity for the expression of community mourning and thanksgiving. . It wasn't the games that mattered so much over this past week and weekend, it was the opportunity for people to come together to express themselves as a community in thanks and in mourning. This of course has happened in churches, in community halls, and concert halls, and wherever people gather in numbers. However none of these venues brought such large numbers of people together in person and united them with the nation via television as was done through sport over the past week and weekend. . Like it or not, Sport is an integral part of our national community life and culture, and this past seven days showed that over and over again throughout the land. . On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't need to be a good sport to be a bad loser. . . Copyright 2001 by Richard C. Crepeau