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| [ PHOTO: NBC SPORTS ] |
September 11, 2018
Peter Solari, Editor-in-Chief
Amazingly, today marks the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America. I was only 18-years old at that time, and another 17 have passed since, but the memory of that day is still as clear and vivid in mind, as anything I've ever experienced.
It's no secret, as it has been heavily reported for the past 17 years, that sports played a major role in America's healing in the days and months following 9/11. Of course, everyone is familiar with Mike Piazza's game-winning 2-run home run off Steve Karsay, which sent the Mets to a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Braves, in the first major sporting event in New York since the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell ten days earlier. An equally as famous and emotional event would take place five weeks later on the other side of the city.
It was October 30, 2001, and game 3 of the World Series was about to unfold in the Bronx. Back then, it was basically a yearly ritual for the Yankees to be participating in the Fall Classic, but in a stunning reversal of roles, the whole country was rallying behind them. The Yankees had become America's team! In stark contrast, New York's opponent, the Arizona Diamondbacks, in only their fourth year of existence, were participating in the World Series for the first time. With the Diamondbacks holding a 2-0 series lead, New York City was desperate for an uplifting moment. The stage was set, and President George W. Bush played the part to perfection.
I'll never forget watching Bush on that night. In a time of such uncertainty, when all of New York and America, were on edge, watching Bush, regardless of what anyone may think of the man's politics, trot out to the mound with such confidence, and resolve, was reassuring to many of us whose worlds had been rocked. Then, in a what seemed to be such a defiant pose, the president gave a big thumbs up to the Yankee Stadium crowd, which had broken out into chants of "U.S.A. U.S.A." and delivered a perfect strike to Yankees backup catcher Todd Greene. And in doing so, it was as if Bush delivered a message to the world: America is united, America is strong, and America won't be intimated. Take a look at the video below:
In a game that was very much overshadowed by the its ceremonial first pitch, The Yankees won a low-scoring affair that night, and New York could finally smile, albeit only for a moment.
The grieving city was given two more reasons to celebrate the following two nights when the Bronx Bombers staged back-to-back ninth inning comebacks and extra-inning walk-off wins in games 4 and 5, culminated by Derek "Mr. November" Jeter's legendary home run in the first World Series game ever played post-October.
When the series returned to Phoenix, the D-Backs won game 6 in blowout fashion, and orchestrated their own ninth inning magic in game 7, shocking Mariano Rivera and the Yankees to win the World Series. The better team had undoubtedly won.
Looking back, it's amazing to think that the '01 series came down to the bottom of the ninth inning of game 7, because Arizona was in control for the majority of it. Outside of a few big hits in the biggest of moments, the Yankees were over-matched. And while some of those moments made New York feel like a team of destiny, it's only fitting that the biggest of those moments was reserved for Luis Gonzalez and the Diamondbacks.
Overall, the 2001 Fall Classic was pretty uneventful one, defined by the aforementioned "moments" that make it so memorable; none of them being more monumental than President Bush's ceremonial first pitch.
With due respect to Gonzalez and Jeter, it's Bush who will forever be synonymous with the '01 World Series, because his moment transcended baseball. It was so much bigger than that. And as I sit here on what is unbelievably the 17th anniversary of September 11, 2001, with the pennant races in full swing, I thought, what better time is there to look back at this truly American occasion?
