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'We Shall Not Forget' Games become memorial services as sports pay tributePosted: Wednesday September 11, 2002 6:01 PMUpdated: Thursday September 12, 2002 2:32 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Joe Torre wiped his eyes as saxophonist Branford Marsalis played Taps. Fans held hands or wrapped their arms around each other. Yankee Stadium, the scene of so many emotional moments in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks last year, felt like a giant cathedral on the anniversary Wednesday night. Fans and ballplayers from New York to San Francisco stood through stirring ceremonies, remembering victims, honoring heroes and making a statement about the national spirit. The Yankees unfurled a flag recovered from the World Trade Center and unveiled a memorial inscribed "We Remember," in Monument Park beyond the center-field fence. After the singing of "God Bless America" and the national anthem fans broke into chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A." "We were tough and united right away after the attacks a year ago, and this is a night when everyone can show how tough and united we still are," Torre said. "We don't need to relive what happened, but we need to remember. I went through a range of emotions, from scared to mad to proud of how the city and country was dealing with it." The monument in center field, Torre said, "opens a book of memories and sadness that's not going to go away. ... It happened on our turf. It seems like it happened 10 days ago, 10 minutes ago." American flags flew at half-staff in every ballpark. Songs such as Imagine, I Will Survive, Let it Be and Bridge Over Troubled Water played during batting practice instead of the usual bubble gum pop music. And the electronic boards throughout the country carried a simple message: "We Shall Not Forget." President Bush wrote a letter that was read throughout the majors. "During the past year, baseball helped to bring Americans together," Bush wrote. "In the aftermath of the attacks, an exciting pennant race and World Series were an important part of the healing process."
There was a moment of silence at 9:11 p.m. local time at all night games, with a videotape in memory of those who died in the attacks. During afternoon games, the moment of silence and video tribute came during the seventh-inning stretch. At 9:11 p.m. in Milwaukee, the scoreboard for the Brewers-Cardinals game went dark and fans donned "We Shall Not Forget" T-shirts given to them when they entered. When the scoreboard lit up again, the tribute was played while fans waved American flags and chanted, "USA! USA!" Commissioner Bud Selig, former president of the Brewers, attended the game and said that baseball had agonized over whether to play on the anniversary. "It's the right thing to do," he said. "You can see in people's reactions that they want to share in the emotion of the ceremony and the day." Millions of Americans spent the day remembering and mourning and paying homage, and those who came to the ballparks said the ceremonies and songs were important to the nation. "It feels very special. I wouldn't have missed it. It's something the whole country is looking at," said Jim DiCaprio, 41, Yonkers, N.Y. "It was beautiful, very dignified. That flag with the stars missing was very touching." In Chicago, fan Geraldine Mrozinksi said she first felt guilty about coming to Wrigley Field for a Cubs-Expos game. "But once we got here," she said, "it seems like the perfect place to be. Here, we'll commemorate it in the proper way." Many NFL teams paused during practice to observe a moment of silence. Most sports events went on Wednesday as on almost any other day, despite the government's decision to raise the United States' security alert warning to "high risk." In Colorado Springs, Colo., about 150 Olympic athletes lined the streets outside the Olympic Training Center for a candlelight vigil honoring the victims and heroes of the attacks.
There were similar observances around the world. English horse racing held a minute of silence at Doncaster, Epsom and Hereford, and jockeys wore black armbands. At the women's world volleyball championship in Bremen, Germany, the United States observed a moment of silence and wore black ribbons in their victory over Cuba. In England, officials observed a moment of silence at the Rockingham Speedway -- site of CART'S Rockingham 500 on Saturday -- beside an oak tree planted in memory of the Sept. 11 victims. Cyclists in the Tour of Spain took a silent moment before the fifth stage. The U.S. national anthem played while the flags of the United States, Spain and the European Union were raised -- all marked with black sashes. At the Pirates-Reds game, the first pitch was thrown out by 14-year-old Andy Moskal, whose father, William, was killed at the World Trade Center. Before the Dodgers-Giants game at Pac Bell Park, there was a tribute on the big screen on the center-field scoreboard reading "9.11.01 We will never forget," with a series of black-and-white photos from the events of one year ago. Instead of a ceremonial first pitch, the ball was placed on the mound by a man whose father died in the attacks. As bagpipes skirled, members of the San Francisco Fire Department tossed wreaths of white flowers into McCovey Cove from a fireboat outside the park.
"We're here to play baseball, we're here to entertain and we're here to hopefully help people heal," San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker said.
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