Sport for Thought: What the Yankees meant to America following 9/11

Every year on September 11, their is a somber feeling in the air and when you turn on the television, we cannot escape the day that lives on in infamy. The attacks on the World Trade Center were absolutely horrific and changed the lives of Americans forever. After watching 9/11 television specials for a majority of the day yesterday, I immediately realized what I should write about for my post this week. Following the events of 9/11, it took quite some time for people to come to terms of what had happened and they did not know what to do next. For millions of people, they turned to baseball. It was something that could take the terrible events out of the minds of millions of people and bring their lives to be as normal as possible for just a few hours each day.

For New Yorkers, that meant to root for the New York Yankees during a magnificent and unforgettable playoff run. Although the Yankees are hated by many outside of the New York/New Jersey area, for that October and November, they were America's team. People all over the country were cheering for the Yankees and they brought a sense of hope and normalcy to millions of people's lives.

As seen in the video above, President George W. Bush knew just what baseball and the Yankees meant to America.

Even the Yankees knew that they were playing for much more than a World Series Championship. The games became a symbol of hope and unity to Americans, and the Yankees including Derek Jeter did everything they could to support the families affected. When most players would have all of their concentration on playing well and winning, Jeter decided to meet with a young girl and her family after she sent him a letter explaining how much he meant to her since the passing of her beloved father.

Although they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in seven games, the Yankees won the hearts of New Yorkers and helped them make it through the most difficult time of their lives. The Yankees played riveting baseball with some incredible plays along the way that will be etched in the minds of New Yorkers forever!


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Alexa Fontanella is a freshman Sport Management Major at Drexel University, from Totowa, NJ. This winter she will be working with Drexel Athletics on marketing strategies and game day operations for the Drexel Dragons basketball team. Alexa is looking forward to participating in her first co-op next fall and is excited for such an amazing opportunity. She is a huge New York Sports fan, specifically the Yankees and the Nets. 

Follow Alexa on Twitter @Lexa_Font4 and connect with her on LinkedIn.