| From sea to shining sea, the NFL and its fans
were at their best Sunday, during an emotional day the likes of which has perhaps never
been seen. There were American flags everywhere, including huge ones that covered the
entire field in some stadiums and where competing players stood side by side holding the
symbol of our freedom. There were tears, too, as the nation paused to remember, yet got
ready to play a game.
And in a season where the league has tried to emphasize sportsmanship with its players,
it was certainly uplifting to see that filter into the stands. Especially in Kansas City
and Foxboro, Mass., where the previously unthinkable happened: Home fans cheered the road
teams from New York. In Arrowhead Stadium, there was a sign that said: "Kansas City
Loves (a heart was used) NY."
Said Giants OG Glenn Parker, who played in Kansas City from 1997-99, "That says a
lot about this country and an awful lot about the people in Kansas City."
During the pregame ceremonies, Chiefs fans reached down to hold the hands of Giants
players standing in the tunnel waiting to come on the field while "God Bless
America" was sung. Fans even slapped the New York players’ hands as they ran off
the field after a 13-3 victory. Never mind that it was the first win by an NFC East team
in Arrowhead since 1979. Or that it was the first time in 55 games that the Chiefs had
been held without a touchdown at home. Such things just didn’t seem to matter.
"There were a lot of guys out there playing with heavy hearts," Giants DT
Keith Hamilton said. "We’re not the heroes. The heroes are back in New York
still searching through the rubble and fighting through things. What we do is easy."
In New England, where fans have watched Bill Parcells bolt for the Jets and Bill
Belichick leave the Jets for the Patriots in recent years, that seemed like ancient
history when those same fans cheered the Jets as they ran on the field.
Later, after the Jets had won, 10-3, coach Herman Edwards awarded the game ball from
his first victory as an NFL coach to the city of New York "and to all those people
there who’ve worked and tried to save lives. It’s only fitting."
With tears welling in his eyes, Edwards talked about the emotion he felt during the
singing of the national anthem.
"The national anthem is always close to my heart, because my father was in the
military," Edwards said. "Every time I see the flag, I always think about that.
I think our country needs to come back, and it will come back."
After the game, Jets WR Wayne Chrebet exchanged his FDNY hat with a fan for a flag.
Fans wished him a safe trip home, and Chrebet thanked them for supporting both teams. It
was just that kind of day.
"I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder to be an American in my
life," Chrebet said. "I’m guilty that I’ve never felt that way before.
I feel bad. I can promise you I’ll never take for granted being an American
again."
For Jets QB Vinny Testaverde, it was a particularly draining day. He had visited Ground
Zero the previous week and came away stricken by the magnitude of what he had seen. Then,
in the locker room two hours before Sunday’s game, he happened to notice two posters
on the wall of the visiting locker room that honored the missing police officers and
firefighters.
Reading the poster, he got chills when he saw the name Ronald Kloepfer, one of 23
police officers who entered the World Trade Center and never returned.
"I know a Ronnie Kloepfer," Testaverde said to himself and confirmed his
suspicions when he saw the picture of Kloepfer, a teammate from his high school football
squad. That made the day even more difficult. Imagine being in New York since Sept. 11,
but finding out about someone you knew on the wall of a locker room hundreds of miles
away.
"I think just the whole atmosphere was very emotional and certainly it started for
me a little earlier than I anticipated," Testaverde said. "Just walking in the
locker room and seeing a high school teammate’s picture on a poster of heroes that
died in that tragedy. I kind of suspected it would be emotional with the national anthem
and everybody bringing flags to the game and that kind of thing."
And he acknowledged thinking of Kloepfer during the game.
"At times during the game when I was a little tired, I thought about him," he
said. "It inspired me. Just the whole atmosphere kind of inspired everybody. At the
same time, all that emotion is draining, too."
Said Jets RB Curtis Martin, "After standing in front of those buildings that
collapsed, I can say there were a lot of emotions (yesterday). A lot of guys were crying.
We came in with the burden of having to win for the city. We had a lot of built-up
emotions."
Back in Kansas City, in a meeting the night before the game, Giants coach Jim Fassel
said he had talked enough about the previous 11 days and invited any player to speak that
wanted to. Seven did, and the most emotional was the last: LB Mike Barrow. Of course,
Barrow was last, because he’s a tough act to follow.
"He just said, ‘Those people are willing to go out and die to save other
people, to die for what they believe in,’ " LB Brandon Short said. "He
said, ‘This is an opportunity for us to go out and help them, to lift their spirits.
And we’ve got to almost be willing to die for what we do, too.’ "
Said Barrow later, "We are a reflection of our city. We are a reflection of New
York and New Jersey. And if you know anything about New York/New Jersey, they’re some
tough people. We’ve got some fighters. We represent courage, we’re representing
true heroes — those firemen, those policemen, those people who were caught in that
building. They were fighters.
"So just like our city is bouncing back, just like America is bouncing back, we
knew we’d bounce back. That’s all it is. We couldn’t let our fans down
because if we’re going to wear that ‘NY’ on our helmets, we’re
representing them."
Barrow also reflected on the reaction of the Kansas City fans. "It was
awesome," he said. "Somebody asked me when was the last time I was at an away
game and had somebody cheer for me. Not since my Pop Warner days. What it showed is
everything that happened didn’t just affect New York. This is an American thing.
Having people come out with their flags, it was like sports was at its highest. We felt
like one."
Yes, we did. On this day, this truly was America the beautiful. |
