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Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 06:06:16 -0400
From: richard crepeau <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Sport and Society 9/11 Anniversary
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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
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SPORT AND SOCIETY FOR H-ARETE
September 18, 2001
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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So what to do in this case?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Copyright 2001 by Richard C. Crepeau
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SPORT AND SOCIETY FOR H-ARETE
September 24, 2001
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Copyright 2001 by Richard C. Crepeau
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