When Sports Stood Still

 

My main purpose for embarking on this series of articles was to examine the variety of issues contained within the arena of sports, and to illustrate how sports reflect the value system and moral ambiguities being struggled with by society at large. Sports serve as a metaphor for the everyday complexities facing the Everyman, while simultaneously being a pleasant diversion from real life. But on certain occasions, often those that are grave in nature, the worlds of sports and reality collide. It is then that everyone from casual viewers to the most fanatical followers of how the balls bounce are forcibly reminded that after all is said and done, sports are no more or less than the games men and women play. And sometimes playtime, at least temporarily, must come to a halt.

There is no need for me to recount the awful events of September 11, for they are permanently imprinted on our minds, visions of terror endlessly replaying before our disbelieving eyes. Prominent among the reasons being credited for the terrorists’ heinous acts of war against America is a desire to disrupt and dismantle our way of life. Our enemies want to intimidate us into surrendering the freedoms that we cherish, yet have come to take for granted. To surrender our inalienable rights to live freely is to grant our enemies victory. In order to claim victory for ourselves, despite the tremendous number of lives lost and devastation wrought, we must carry on. We must continue to participate in our passions, ranging from the critical to the leisurely, for these acts are part of what defines us as Americans.

It goes without saying that professional sports comprises a large sized portion of the American way. Not this week, however. Although most television stations are running the news 24/7, sports are not part of the program. It’s as if they have ceased to exist. Last week the stretch run of the baseball season was underway. This week, Major League games have been postponed until Monday at the earliest. Last weekend the NFL kicked off its season. This Sunday was supposed to be filled with week two games. That plan has been scrapped. Major League Soccer has canceled the remainder of its regular season games. The NHL has canceled this week’s scheduled preseason games. NASCAR events and PGA tournaments have been nixed. The highly anticipated middleweight title unification bout between Felix Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins has been postponed. So too have been college football games and Davis Cup match play. Sports junkies have no choice but to go into withdrawal.

The argument for these postponements and cancellations is overwhelmingly strong. Respect and honor must be paid to those who were killed, those who may possibly be clinging to their lives beneath tons of rubble, and those who work tirelessly to find them. Our nation is on the verge of war, the lives of our soldiers will be put in peril, so this too must be acknowledged. The very least we can do is miss a few sporting events.

Those who protest, although not too strenuously, feel that the enemies of freedom must be shown that we are unbroken and unbowed. By going forth with the business of living in a democracy rather than a police state, we will discourage future acts of terrorism by showing that they are ineffectual when it comes to breaking our collective spirit. This is a valid point. But I can’t help but reflect on the sobering fact that Giants stadium, home of both the NY Giants and Jets, is currently being utilized as a gigantic makeshift morgue. We must and we will move on, but everything must take place in due course. Football can wait. Sports can survive a brief hibernation. The games we love will be played again, just not right away. America should take a moment of reflection, not because we have been weakened, but to ultimately be more resolved than ever. Sports can work wonderfully as metaphor, allegory, entertainment, and a way to escape. But before escaping, this great nation of ours has some harsh reality to face.