In light of US tragedy, I need sports. I hope games resume soon. (1 Viewer)

[GaryEA]

Headline from today's Newark Star-Ledger (New Jersey) regarding the cancellation of MLB events;
"It's Only a Game."
-g

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I say that ALL sports should be suspended for the next week or so. With the events of New York, Washington and Pittsburgh still very-much ongoing, the ability to safe-guard those events is in question. I don't think it's worth the trouble to have a "distraction". If you need a distraction, turn the TV off and take a walk. A picnic. Go fishing. Can these sporting events be a chance to gather together and heal? Absolutely. But, that is also the case a week from now. Right now, there is far too much unresolved to let something as petty as sports be a concern.
And just to let you know, the NFL will announce tomorrow morning its intentions for the weekend. Like the PGA, baseball, some college football (why not all?) have done, the NFL should just wipe these games off the books and allow its players and families a chance to spend time together. Those players and their families are just as human as you and I and need healing too.
Bruce
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[KeithH]

Bruce, as I said, security issues must be considered in deciding whether or not to carry out scheduled sporting events. Still, it would be nice to be able to turn on the TV and catch a baseball or football game. Now is not the time, but I hope sporting events will resume soon.
By the way, it was announced tonight that the Penn State-Virginia football game has been rescheduled for December 1st, for those who are interested.
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[Seth Paxton]

I will be falling back on Madden 2002 myself. I have no problem with real sports taking a back seat for awhile.
I mentioned the NYC images in a software thread.
Think of Kong, or Escape from NY...
and I agree that the Spider-Man trailer is almost horrifying now because it points out the glaring change that has taken place.

 

[Keith_R]

Here in my hometown of Gainesville, FL. The UF Vs. Tennesee game it has been decided will continue as planned on Saturday. Currently here at the office there is a great debate over whether this should be allowed. I don't see a clear answer one way or the other, one side of it is that this is how the terrorists wanted it, they wanted to see us lose our freedoms and our economy take big hits in that respect yes the games should go on. The other side of the coin though is that we are dealing with a huge loss of life and putting the games on is the least of our concerns. Lifes were lost, and people are mourning. The security issue is also sort of a concern because everything is still in chaos. In respect of the dead and security issues if that stuff concerns you the game shouldn't go on. I think they are rushing everyone too fast trying to get on with life. The WTC and the Pentegoan are huge tragedies which both should be treated with respect and you can't move on from something which has literally killed thousands by going on with life after a couple days, this is going to stick with us for a while.
-Keith-

 

[DennisHP]

Sure. Let's pack a stadium with 75,000 people right now. That would make a great target.
I understand the need for a distraction. Go watch Arlington Road or better yet, clean your weapons.

 

[BryanZ]

The games should be played where possible. This is to say where ever the teams can make it by bus. You can't count on the airlines being up in the immediate future. This means FSU/GT should be played. Miami and USF should not play. USF also has to keep an eye out on a storm in the Gulf so that game likely will be canceled/postponed (to bad too, especially considering it is the home opener). For the NFL, the Bengels/Titans, Minnesota/Baltimore, and Steelers/Browns should play. All other games should be postponed if air travel is not available.
There are always security concerns whenever you play a game and several thousand people show up. This should not prevent you from playing it. We can and should not allow fear of terrorism to dictate what we do or do not do.

 

[Patrick_S]

NFl has canceled the games for this week.
I think it was the right move.
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[Patrick Sun]

I think it's a combination of logistics (flying) and a "Black Sunday" scenario (getting security personnel trained in higher security levels to allow huge crowds of people at football games).
It was a tough decision to make, but in 6 months from now, we won't even care that the NFL season was a week longer than normal.
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[JonZ]

The Trinidad fight has been postponed as well.
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"....With that in mind,I humbly add my own prophecy of
what the dawn of the new millennium shall bring forth-
one thousand more years of the same old crap" Jose Chung
[Edited last by JonZ on September 13, 2001 at 10:55 AM]

 

[Patrick Sun]

We actually played our weekly Wednesday night softball game, and it was a very surreal moment for me. Imagine watching a film giving you a slow motion 360-degree pan from the field to all the other fields with people playing softball, realizing that while people were getting on with their lives after terroristic attack on America, NYC is still suffering from the aftershocks of the events. The juxtaposition of the footage from the news freshly in my mind with what I was seeing on the softball field almost paralyzed me. Then the umpire yelled "Play ball!" and we did.
We wound up beating up on the other team 16-1, but it wasn't a victory that any of us could freely enjoy. It just felt different, not as important as the other weeks' efforts. I know it'll take time to get over the awkwardness of enjoying life again, but we will get over this tragedy and get on with living our lives.
My thoughts are still with the families that lost their loved ones on September 11, 2001, a day we must never forget.
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[LarryDavenport]

I have tickets for this Saturday's Mariners game against Texas and if the game is on, I'll go. If the players don't want to play, I'll support them. I'll support whatever they want to do. But I want baseball back and I want to see the Mariners win the World Series.
Sorry if that sounds selfish, but a year and a half ago I was diagnosed with a kidney disease and I have to go on kidney dialysis in a couple months. I'll have to be on dialysis until I get a new kidney, so for the past syear or so, I have been living with the possibility that I may only have a couple years left. I am going to make the most of them.
It may be awhile before I feel safe getting on a plane again. I was going to go to San Francisco in October one last time before starting dialysis. I don't know if I will now. But I am not going to hide in my room until "the war is over."
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[Matt Kasprzak]

I understand the need to mourn and I'm feeling the same emotions as many of us here on the HTF are feeling, but the bottom line is that every day we let pass while immobilized with fear is another victory for the terrorists. I'll take the contrarian view to most in this thread that, out of respect for the victims, we need to begin returning to a semblance of normal life as soon as possible.
This is not about distractions, this is about standing tall, holding our heads up, and sending a message to the rest of the world that you can knock us down, but we're going to get right back up. I, for one, am not going to hide in a corner and wish it would all go away, and I only hope my country won't either.

 

[John Tillman]

The last 'normal' video of NYC I had was from the NY Jet game last Sunday. They always give you that awesome view of the NYC skyline from the Meadowlands.
I know the Jets were supposed to head west this weekend and I'm not sure where the NY Giants were to play. But,I think waiting a week is a good thing. They can certainly not show the NYC view, however, there is a gross smell of burnt materials and a film in the air.
NY is home to some 'tuff cookies'... give us a chance to get back on our feet.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I was supposed to attend the Lions - Cowboys game on Sunday, but I think the NFL made the proper decision. Along with the travel and security problems, I doubt that the players or fans minds and hearts would be on the game.
Yes, we do need to return the country to some sense of normalcy, but missing one week of football is insignificant compared with other matters at hand.
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[Rich Malloy]

I'm a huge Florida State fan who's been looking forward to this Saturday since the end of last season. Until Tuesday, that is.
Now is not the time. I even disagree with Coach Bowden on this one. Now is not the time.

Pay tribute by donating blood, not watching football
By Pat Forde
Special to ESPN.com
Amazingly enough, this apparently bears repeating: The worst attack ever on American soil occurred on Tuesday, and we're supposed to skip back into our sporting daydream again by Saturday? How scarily self-interested and desensitized are we?
If Americans feel the need to gather somewhere in this time of crisis, make it the local church, synagogue or mosque. Not the local stadium.
If Americans want to show support for the victims, do it at the Red Cross blood donor center. Not with a five-minute pregame dog-and-pony show designed to alleviate guilt before the show begins.
Question for those trolling this web site today: Do you know more about the Titans or the Taliban? Doesn't this seem like an excellent time to alter that imbalance, instead of rushing back out to the ball yard in an effort to escape the real world?
But not all of us will. The games go on in the Southeastern Conference, the Big 12, the Big Ten and other leagues, at least for schools who wish to play. Football is big in those places -- big enough that hypocrisies cling to the sport like barnacles. Today we see just how big.
Bigger than life.
The machismo addicted want the games to go on, because cancellation shows that "they" won. You know what? They did win Round One. They have the videotape and the bodies and the fractured skyline to prove it, and playing football Saturday does not present a credible counterpoint.
They will play ball Saturday. And in doing so, they are making a tacit admission. They don't truly care about the people who died or truly appreciate the gravity of what happened Tuesday.

 

[MickeS]

They will play ball Saturday. And in doing so, they are making a tacit admission. They don't truly care about the people who died or truly appreciate the gravity of what happened Tuesday.

I think that's very unfair. This is a horrible tragedy, but life must go on. I wouldn't want to go to a ballgame or see a movie right now, but there are those who do, and they are not less caring than others, they just deal with it differently. We don't need to start a caring-competition based on who can go the longest without having fun, we need to help those who need help, improve security, find the guilty and do our best to prevent it from happening again. If I was one of the victims that's what I'd want, and I would want people to remember this tragedy and make the best of it, and I would know that just going to a football game (or playing football) doesn't mean that they don't care.
/Mike

 

[KeithH]

Mike, very well said. It's also worth noting that a moment of silence will be held at any sporting events held this weekend. For some, being around 50,000 or more caring Americans during a moment of silence and the National Anthem brings a sense of comfort and security. Some need that display to help with their emotions and to know that we are all in this together.
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[Rich Malloy]

Yes, I disagree with the first half of Forde's statement:
"They don't truly care about the people who died..."; but I completely agree with the second: "...or truly appreciate the gravity of what happened Tuesday."
This isn't the Cole bombing in Yemen, or the Marine barracks in Saudi Arabia, or the US embassies in Africa. This is an attack on US soil that has left thousands, if not tens of thousands of people dead.
Yes, people grieve differently. But attending football games is not grieving. And it's not coping either. It's an attempt to forget. To placate our minds by preoccupying them.
I do it all the time. I'm not proud of it, but it's a coping mechanism I certainly employ.
But the NCAA should understand how inappropriate this is. The NFL learned a harsh lesson after JFK's assassination when they refused to postpone Sunday's games. I think those conferences that will play on Saturday are risking a similar backlash.
But backlash or no, I can't fathom how this would be appropriate. Not as we're still sifting through the remains. Not with thousands dead or missing. Not with the threat of more violence hanging in the air. Not with the slow realization that we are about to embark upon a long and deadly war that will surely bring more bloodshed, on our soil as well as foreign soil.
Can't we have just one weekend of grief and self-reflection and pondering of the days to come before we return to your regularly scheduled programming?

 

[MickeS]

Can't we have just one weekend of grief and self-reflection and pondering of the days to come before we return to your regularly scheduled programming?

I agree with you that we should, if it were up to me. But I think the choice must be with the individual. If noone showed up for these sporting events, that would make a strong statement. However, I think it's wrong to start telling people how they should handle the situation, just because they handle it differently (yes, even if they handle it by, for a few hours, trying to forget these horrible images and events we've seen the last few days).
Just because someone goes to a football game on Saturday, doesn't mean they didn't go to give blood on Friday, or that their thoughts and best wishes aren't with the victims and their families.