9/11 16th ANNIVERSARY

9/11 16th ANNIVERSARY

By: Matthew Blittner

Where were you when the world changed forever?

I was eight years-old and sitting in art class at PS 195 Elementary School in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, NY.

As a child sitting in school I had no idea what was going on in the outside world. All that mattered was doing what the teacher said, and trying to have fun doing it.

All of a sudden, my Mother entered my classroom, spoke to the teacher for a moment, and then came over to me. She told me to gather my things, that we were going home. We got my younger sister, and then headed home. On the way home we stopped to pick up my Father from his security job. 

A distinguished Police Officer for the NYPD, my Father had been at his second job when the world changed. My Mom, sister, and I went to pick him up so that he could come home, change clothes, and then go to work down at what forever became known as, "Ground Zero."

Two airplanes had been taken over by hijackers and flown into the Twin Towers -- the Towers had stood as landmarks in the New York City skyline for generations -- and after the Towers burned for a little over an hour, they completely crashed to the ground. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives that day and in the days that followed. 

Initially, all public events -- sporting or otherwise -- were postponed. 

After several days, sports returned to the grieving city. The City's sports teams, once viewed as a collection of high-priced athletes, were now looked upon as ambassadors for their city.

Three teams in particular, led the charge to help the city recover. The Yankees, Mets, and Rangers each captured the hearts of the city through several memorable moments.

Prior to the games returning to New York, each team sent a group of players and executives on goodwill missions around the city -- specifically to shelters, where many people were gathered, hoping for news about a missing loved one.

First to return were the Rangers. On September 19th, the Rangers welcomed their rivals, the New Jersey Devils, to Madison Square Garden for a preseason match. 

What should have been a meaningless preseason affair, was now an emotional event. Many fans didn't know whether they should cheer or continue to mourn their losses. 

Inside The Garden, the rink boards -- once filled with advertisements and sponsor logos -- now displayed the message, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all the injured and lost, New York's Finest and Bravest, and all volunteers."

While the game itself didn't have any moments of play to remember, the pregame singing of "God Bless America" provided a stirring moment for all in attendance. Longtime Rangers' Anthem singer John Amirante performed a moving rendition of the song while fans chanted USA! USA! USA!

Next on the list was the Mets. Playing host to their rivals -- the Atlanta Braves -- both teams came into Shea Stadium on September 21st looking to play the first regular-season sports game since the attacks 10-days earlier.

Prior to the game, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- a notorious Yankees' fan -- announced that he was going to break down and go to the Mets game.

The fans experienced many of the same raw emotions that those who packed Madison Square Garden did two nights earlier. Along with those emotions was the fear of being attacked again.

With the Braves taking a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth, many fans were still looking for that one moment that would provide them with a euphoric release. Mike Piazza then stepped to the plate with a runner on base against the Braves Steve Karsay. With the count 0-1, Piazza crushed Karsay's offering over the wall in center field and the Mets went on to win the game 3-2. Just like that, Mets fans, and the City of New York had their moment of euphoria.

Next came the Rangers and their season opener on October 7th. Prior to facing the Buffalo Sabres, there was a 30-minute long pregame ceremony to honor those that had lost their lives, and those that were working to help find survivors. 

During that ceremony, Captain Mark Messier was given the helmet of longtime Rangers' fan, and FDNY Chief of Operations Ray Downey. Downey, like many other emergency workers had died in the 9/11 attacks. FDNY hockey team co-captain Larry McGee was a part of the ceremony and was struck with inspiration when he saw Messier walking towards the ice without his standard hockey helmet. McGee approached Messier with Downey's FDNY helmet. McGee told Messier about Downey and asked if Mark would wear the helmet.

Messier quickly and without hesitation donned the helmet and took to the ice to address the fans in attendance. He dedicated the game and the season to the fans, and then in true Messier fashion, went out and setup the first goal of the game. The Rangers would go on to win 5-4 in overtime, and after the game, Messier gave the jersey off his back to Downey's widow Rosalie.

Then the Yankees came into the picture. After having captured the American League East Division Crown, the Yankees took the hopes of the City into the 2001 Major League Playoffs. These playoffs saw many unbelievable moments. From Derek Jeter's now iconic "Flip Play" to Jeter's Game 5 dive into the stands, to the 116-win Mariners getting manhandled in the ALCS, and many more. 

In the World Series, the New York Yankees took on the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks. Normally, everybody outside of New York would be rooting against the Yankees, but in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, the pinstriped faithful were cheered throughout the league as they had become "America's Team" almost by default. Arizona meanwhile, was filled with veterans, many of whom had never even sniffed the World Series. So, how does this series begin? Arizona's vets manhandled the defending three-time champion Yankees and took a two games to none lead heading to New York for Game 3.

A gusty win in Game 3 cut Arizona's lead to 2-1, but Game 4 was another story. The Yankees found themselves down two-runs with two-outs in the bottom of the ninth.

For historical perspective, no team in baseball history had ever been down two-runs with two-outs in the bottom of the ninth in the World Series and comeback to win the game. So, when Tino Martinez stepped to the plate in that exact scenario with a runner on base against Diamondbacks closer Byung-Hyun Kim, history wasn't on his side. Tino then laughed in the face of history as he deposited Kim's offering over the wall in right center field to tie the game. When Derek Jeter victimized Kim with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th-inning the Bombers had done more than just tie the World Series, they had made baseball history.

Game 5 in any best-four-of-seven series is the classic "swing game," and this time was no different. A dominate Curt Schilling tamed New York's offense and once more Kim took the mound with a two-run lead for the ninth inning. With two-outs, down by two, and with a runner on base, Scott Brosius, stepped to the plate looking for some more late inning magic.

Now, what happened in Game 4 was remarkable, but it couldn't happen again, could it?

With a mighty swing, Brosius skied the ball deep down the left field line and into the seats, tying the game in the most improbable fashion. When Alfonso Soriano knocked in Chuck Knoblauch with the winning-run in the bottom of the 12th, New York had pulled off another miracle. The Yankees would head to the desert up 3-2 in the series, but would not win again as the Diamondbacks conjured their own late-inning magic in Game 7 to take home the World Series Championship.

These and many other tales have emerged in the 16-years since 9/11/01. While the world changed that day, and will continue to change, one thing will remain the same. The City of New York is filled with fighters and heroes alike. This is truly the City that Never Sleeps.