On The 10th Anniversary of September 11th

I wrote this a week ago, just before the 10th anniversary of September 11.  I  didn't publish at the time just becuase...I don't know.  Lots of people in the media were being critical of how our nation has handled the past 10 years, and I don't think anything I have said will really raise eyebrows.  But to be somewhat critical of our nation on a day where our unity in the face of tragedy was emphasized seemed wrong. 

It's been a week.  The memories of the commerations and the day itself have faded a bit for most of us.  So it seems appropriate (if untimely) to join the choir now. 

It would not be fitting to say nothing on the 10th anniversary of the attacks on September 11th, 2001. 

It is impossible to forget the day.  I remember exactly where I was, as I am sure all of you do as well. I was at Virginia Tech, sitting in a class room, and my professor walked in and said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.  He didn't know what kind of plane, no one understood the magnitude of what had just happened, so we all just contiuned with class as normal and I assumed it was a little, private aviator's plane.  A small tragedy on an otherwise promising tuesday. 

I got out of class and headed to Owens Hall for lunch, and there on the TV screens was tragedy writ large.

Now it is 10 years later.  All week the media has been revisiting the pain of that day, remembering those who died, and commentating on the legacy those attacks have left behind.  On Sunday there will be fittengly solemn commemerations throughout the country, especially in New York City where they will have their annual ceremony, reading aloud the names of those who died.  

As for myself, I will certainly say a prayer for those who lost their lives.  I will certainly remember the fire fighters and EMTs who rushed towards death and destruction that they might save others.  I will certainly keep in my thoughts men and women like Lt. Todd Weaver, killed in Afghanistan one year ago last Friday, who left behind a wife and a daughter who is about the same age as my own daughter.

It is all appropriate.  But I wonder if perhaps, over the past 10 years, it would have been better if we could have shaken off the ghosts of September 11th to a greater extent?  I wonder if September 11th has come to define our nation in a way that maybe it shouldn't? 

It may be too soon to ask those questions.  It may take ages for us to heal from such a traumatic event.  But history and our own lives tell us it is dangerous to fixate on moments of defeat and pain.  It may not be the best parallel, but the Serbian fixation on the Battle of Kosovo of 1389, where Serbian armies were decimated in what is probably best considered a tactical draw but a strategic defeat, was used to breed feelings of nationalism and hatred that fueled the barbarity of the Bosnian Wars 600 years later.  More familiar may be the way that Hitler and the Nazis used the bitterness of German defeat in WWI (and the terms of their surrender) to turn their nation in to a machine of war and death.

Or maybe witness simply the broken man, who lets a tragedy in own his life define him, who becomes bitter, irritable, and hate filled?

Invoking historical boogeymen to defend a point is in vogue these days, and I am not suggesting that the United States is on a path to become a new Serbia or the Fouth Reich.  But rest assured as well I don't use these examples lightly, as they are extreme examples that point to the cancer that can grip a nation if it lets painful moments in its history define it.  We should be wary of allowing the events of the past 10 years to do so.

We have more in common, probably, with the broken man.  The past 10 years have been traumatic.  We were attacked, we responded in ways both good and bad, and that response has forced us to question ourselves as as nation.  Other events not related to September 11th have also forced us to question some of our basic assumptions about the World and our place in it. 

We don't seem to be dealing wth it well.  Instead of positively responding to the challenges before us, we sit at the bar and lash out anyone who tries to console us.  We react with bitterness, divisiveness, pettyness and immaturity.  I dare say that many of our public officials and self-righteous media demagogues, who are always so quick to thank those who serve or venerate our first responders, have not even begun to live up to the example that our nation's heroes have given us. 

What will the 20th anniverasy of September 11th be like?  What will the 30th?  I hope we will commemorate those days.  It would be a shame if September 11th really did become like Pearl Harbor Day, which aside from a note on the calender and maybe a documentary on the History Channel (maybe) is often forgotten.  But I hope on the 30th Anniversary of September 11th we will be able to look back on the pervious 20 years and see that we have responded more positively to an ever changing world.  I hope our politics will be less divisive.  I hope that we come to have some measure of peace with ourselves as a nation.    

Have your September 11th, and keep it well.  Light your candles, say your prayers, recite the names and ring your bells.  Remember.  But then let the bells fall silent.  Put out the candles and let the smoke curl peacefully to the Heavens.  Tomorrow is another day, and its going to be beautiful. 

Football? Meet Football.

Do you feel that?  No, its not a late aftershock from that earthquake a few weeks ago.  No my friends, there is a bit of a shake up happening in the world of sports.

Certainly no shake ups this past weekend in Blacksburg, where the Hokies decimated the App State mountaineers.  Frank Beamer, always the gentleman, called off the dogs once the Hokies were up 50 something to nothing.  The Hokies won.  By a lot.  And that's really all I have to say about that, becuase I didn't get to watch the game.

No, the really big thing is that I heard on Rich Eisen's NFL podcast that the Fox network is going to be airing some English Premier League soccer matches this year on Sundays, between the early afternoon and evening NFL games.  The first three will be tape delays (Manchester United v. Chelsea on Sep. 18th, Tottenham Hotspur v. Arsenal on Oct. 2nd and Chelsea v. Liverpool on November 20th).

But then, on Super Bowl Sunday:  Live soccer in the morning.  On Fox.  Chelsea v. Manchester United.

It will be, apparently, the first live broadcast of an EPL match on network television.  And the fact that is happening on Super Bowl Sunday, that most Holy of Holies? 

Wow.  That means that the people on Fox are going to have to stop talking about the Super Bowl for two hours ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY so that they can show a soccer game.  A SOCCER GAME.  And its not like they are going to have to stop talking at 7AM or 8AM.  No, this game will probably be at 11AM, just about the time many of you will be thinking about getting your drink on.That's a big deal America, and it should leave the nation shaken to its core.

I'll let Glenn Beck and Jim Rome worry about that.  Me?  Couldn't be happier.  For the past several years they have shown the Champions League final on the network, and now they are taking another step towards putting soccer more into the mainstream.  This is a comforting sign that the game is gathering more traction in this country, and that I will be able to watch soccer (possibly on more channels) for a very, very long time.  Soccer will probably never be on par with football or baseball or even basketball, but more and more it's here to stay.  That's good enough to me.  

The matches they picked are based on name recognition of the squads, but they should be good games.  Most people, even the un-initiated, have heard of Manchester United.  They are looking extremely good after the first three matches of the season.  Fox will show them against Chelsea twice (in the EPL, you play every team in the league twice).  A word of warning:  traditionally, these two teams are vying for first and second in the league and becuase you get points in the standings for a draw sometimes they have ended up as tentative (and dull) affairs.  It's hard to say what will happen this time, becuase Chelsea probably will not be competing with Manchester United for the title this year; more likely Man U will be competing against Manchester CITY for the top spot. 
Arsenal and Tottenham could be a good match; both are clubs that have had rocky starts to the season, so they should be evenly matched and desperate for victory.  Chelsea v. Liverpool could also be a good game.  Liverpool is resurgent so far after a couple of tough seasons (though we'll see if that lasts).  Liverpool may be shooting for fourth place if their form holds up, and they have Suarez who is a very exciting player.  Chelsea's Torres is less so...

What's more, these are all classic clashes, so the atmosphere in the stadiums should be electric.  United and Chelsea are long time rivals, Tottenham and Arsenal are cross London antagonists, and there is even some bad blood between Chelsea and Liverpool that has developed in recent years (or maybe its always been there, and I have only noticed it recently).  Those of you who watch will not fail to note, I am sure, that a soccer crowd, well lubricated with bitters and singing in full voice, puts the comparatively sedated NFL fan to shame.  There is just nothing like it.

One last note for non-soccer people:  Take a chance on watching these games, and do so with an open mind.  The EPL presents some of the finest football in the world (arguably better than even the World Cup, which many Americans watch).  Don't be afraid if you enjoy it.  These are different times with different social mores:  it's okay if you like soccer.  I won't think any less of you.

Also, pray for an early goal.  In Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby noted that for the spectator a soccer game hasn't really started until the first goal is scored, and it's a maxim I take to heart (and I take very few maxims to heart).  If it's scored, early, that will force the other team to respond by chasing the game, taking risks with its players which will open things up and make things more interesting.

I just hope they don't get Terry Bradshaw to do match commentary or something stupid like that.... 

Hey! The Hokies Have a Game This Weekend!

Oh my gosh!

I do believe, good people, that the Virginia Polytechnic and State University Fighting Gobblers are going to be in action against the Appalachian State Mountaineers this very weekend! 

Can the Mountaineers overcome the long bus ride to Blacksburg and poor catering service to defeat the mighty Hokies? 

Will I be able to partake in the televisional feast that will commence at kickoff? 

Will Sarah Palin parachute out of a C-130 onto the 50 yard line with the 38th Royal Parachute Regiment (the Duke of Gloucester's finest) during the 3rd quarter to renounce her American citizenship and declare her undying loyalty to the Queen?  

All intriguing questions.  I will tackle them in reverse order.

No, I seriously doubt Sarah Palin will do any such thing.  However, before she rules it out entirely, it would be good to remind her that the royalists who stood staunchly with King and Country were America's first conservatives.  Just something to think about, Mrs. Palin, as you continue to try and burnish your credentials for....whatever it is you are preparing to do.   

I don't know.  I will, indeed, be able to partake in the televisional feast, one way or another.  The real question is, do I want to?  My Netflix que is getting awfully overloaded.

It's a tough one.  I've been comparing the Hokie's uniforms with the Mountaineers', and I got to tell ya; not much between them.  I am afraid it's going to have to come to a coin toss. 

Here we go....

Phew.  Don't worry everyone.  It looks a win for the Hokies.  But it will not be easy. 

You see, the coin, once flipped, struck my Pippa Middleton poster, and I fumbled the catch off the ricochet because I was momentarily distracted by....Pippa.  Rules is rules, and so I had to play the coin as it lied.  Luckily it was heads, so the Hokies are still going to win.  But expect a rocky first half. 

Go Hokies!