Opinion

Opinion & Viewpoints

COMMENTARY Remembering how sports united a region & nation

Iwrote about this a few years ago, but it’s worth telling the story again, especially for those who may not have read it the first time.

Sept. 21, 2001, was my 27th birthday. I really had no desire to celebrate it, just 10 days out from the worst day of my life and the life of so many Americans. But as fate would have it, I did celebrate that Friday night. And it’s memory as vivid today as it was 21 years ago.

My friend and colleague, Francis Kochanski, and I would go to Shea Stadium every September with a group of seniors at St. Anthony High School. They came from one of his classes, did the students, and I tagged along to make sure there was enough supervision. (From what I remember, it was for every six students, one chaperone was needed — and 10 kids were supposed to go.)

Kochanski picked the game date in June 2001 — Sept. 21, 2001 — Atlanta Braves @ New York Mets. He never dreamed, when he picked it, that it would be the very first regular season sporting event in the City after the attacks. But it was and we had a great dilemma — do we go? Should we go? Are we out of our minds if we go?

The principal, Sister Felicia, was pretty clear when we asked her.

It was a “You have to go.” And while there were a handful of parents who wouldn’t let their kids go the game, (no one really had the proper answer then) Kochanski and I went with a group of high school seniors. None of us knew how to act, to react, to feel.

But go, we did. And upon pulling up at the Willets Point/Shea Stadium No. 7 train station, we immediately knew how different this was going to be. Military and NYPD officers were stationed seemingly everywhere — and each one was equipped with visible weapons. For a while, it was if we had just entered a war zone. But it gave us a tremendous sense of safety.

It took about 40 minutes to get into Shea. The lines were enormous and the security was as intense as it ever was. And that was just fine. No one looking for trouble of any kind was getting in. Not a chance. When we got to our Upper Deck seats in Section 1, behind the plate, we saw sharp-shooters stationed across the tiny roof Shea had in the upper realms, high enough, it seemed, they could touch planes landing at nearby LaGuardia.

The night began with bagpipes — and I don’t know about you, but when emotions are high, and bagpipes are played, my sentimental Irish side come right out. I cried. I didn’t care what anyone thought. The forthcoming ceremonies were incredible. Marc Anthony sang the National Anthem. The game started. We didn’t know what to do, though. Do we cheer? Do we boo Chipper Jones after he just hugged every single Met player before the game?

It remained that way until we loosened up a bit when Liza Minnelli sang “New York, New York.” But that even lasted but for a few moments. That was, however, until the bottom of the 8th inning, the Mets trailing, 2-1. With one runner on, Mike Piazza came to the plate.

He hit a massive homer to center and the place erupted and shook. It shook more than I remember from Game 6 on the 1986 World Series, another game I was blessed to go to. We hugged. We jumped. We screamed. We cried. Because for the first time in 10 days and 12 hours, we had a reason to. Even though the next morning, it would be back to reality that thousands were dead and the smoke still rose from Ground Zero, Piazza made it go away for a few hours. Yet at that moment, somehow, we knew despite it all, we were going to be OK — eventually. And most eventually were.

But wow. Sports has a funny way of showing its importance in the darkest of days. And could we ever use that spirit these days, couldn’t we?

Paszkiewicz: My rights & yours are from God, not the government

To the Editor:

In a recent letter to the editor, the question was raised, “Is our country heading toward fascism?” The way I see it, America is at a crossroads and it is possible. Allow me to explain. America currently stands as a megapower. The Cold War term “superpower” (used to describe Russia, China and the United States) is no longer adequate to describe America’s greatness with regard to its military and economic might.

However, Americans should not rest secure in this knowledge. The ash bucket of history is full of once-great empires. Nevertheless, America’s meteoric rise to greatness in a mere 246 years borders on the miraculous. Some have suggested there is nothing unique or special about America and we are just fortunate to have great geography.

We are essentially surrounded by a great ocean moat (the Atlantic and Pacific oceans) which protect us from foreign invasion. In addition, the nations that border us are friendly. The problem with this assessment is that it describes the geography of the other two nations that share our continent, Canada and Mexico. In addition, these nations are extremely rich in natural resources as well, yet, neither has risen to the military and economic heights of the United States.

What set the USA apart and caused its meteoric rise was its founding principles. Our founders understood clearly that our rights come from God — we are born with them. The Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…”

The assumption of the founders was that rights are not given by government, they are given by God.

Government’s role is simply to protect the citizen’s God-given rights.

Getting back to the original question, is our nation heading toward fascism? My answer is, it will if we forsake our founding principles. If we fail to teach the next generation the concept of natural rights and the fact that our liberties are God-given, they will see them as nothing more than privileges granted by the government.

I’ll close with an illustration. A great milestone for an American teenager is getting their driver’s license. With getting that license, however, parents gain a great deal of leverage over them. When the teen doesn’t behave up to mom and dad’s standards, they take away the car keys. They gave the car and can take away the keys. This is OK for mom and dad. Indeed, it is expected of a good mom and dad if they want to raise responsible children.

However, it is not ok for government. Remember, if government gives you your rights, government will reserve the right to suspend your rights when you don’t march in lock-step with them.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

David A. Paszkiewicz Kearny

In Memoriam Mary A. Tortoreti 1942-2016

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