The Day The Music Died Doesn’t Mean We’ll Forget How To Sing

Apr 15, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Scene from Boston following multiple bombings near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. Mandatory Credit: Michael Ivins-USA TODAY Sports

Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts is a joyous event. The Red Sox always play at home early so fans can enjoy the game and then head over to Boylston Street to see the finish of the Boston Marathon. It is a Commonwealth holiday celebrating the battles of Lexington and Concord that mark the beginning of America’s struggle for independence.

In modern day Boston, both professional and amateur athletic achievement are paired with the historic significance of the day. Family members congregate to support runners who have trained for an entire year, sometimes longer, to conquer the 26.2 mile course. They support and cheer. They are there to embrace a loved one after a monumental struggle. The day is about the unquenchable human spirit.

At 2:50 pm today that all changed. Who or what group, be it domestic or foreign, is at this point irrelevant. This much, however, is true. An ugly scar has once again been strafed across the American landscape. It is an act specifically designed to imprison large numbers of people within the gates of fear – the very definition of terrorism.

"Personally, I am profoundly saddened and, yes, fearful. I am fearful that one of the last bastions of community – sporting events – has now been breached. I have pondered this eventuality over the years and now that my fears have come to awful fruition a chill wind is blowing across one of my last sanctuaries of happiness. I think I speak for many sports fans on this point."

As of this post, the Boston Globe is reporting three dead and over 130 wounded. I am heartsick. I am a New Englander who, even after all these years in Virginia, looks forward to Patriots’ Day with anticipation and exhilaration. Today I am defeated. Tomorrow I will awake with renewed resolve to once again create joy in the sporting experience. I will again escape from the world’s problems by following what some would consider meaningless and misplaced attention on overpaid, spoiled millionaires. Yet even with all of the scoundrels, money grubbers and cheaters, sports is still at its core a festival of human achievement. If you think I’m deluded, find another pursuit that consistently satisfies you more.

Yes, today was a tragic, awful event that will forever change the American sporting experience. I for one will, however, choose to celebrate the dignity of the human spirit, be it either on a field or on a crowded American street as runners cross a finish line into the arms of loved ones who have gathered to honor their achievement.

My personal heartfelt condolences as well as those of us on the BSI staff, many of which are New Englanders or have New England roots, go out to anyone touched in any way by the events that transpired today during this heinous and cowardly act. It is, at the end of the day, our mutual act of humanity that binds us together during these difficult times. Ask any New Yorker who has experienced 9-11. Ask any Oklahoman who suffered through the Alfred P. Murrah bombing of 1995. Ask any resident of Newtown, CT, some of whom were at the finish line at the marathon today. Ask any parent of a student at Columbine or Virginia Tech. Tragedy is with us. Thankfully, so too is our unshakable spirit.