Friday December 12 2008 - 2:10am Eastern
I wanted to go down memory lane a little bit … and post a column/blog that originally appeared on Raptors.com last November (Nov. 1 2007).
I hope you enjoy this if you didn’t get a chance to read it last Fall. But be warned: This is more about LIFE than basketball.
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Normally when we head out of town for a game against the Nets, the team opts to stay at a hotel in New York - instead of the swamplands of New Jersey. I really don’t know why … other than the fact that the vibe in the city is a million times better than in Sopranoland … and the fancier hotels are in the Big Apple too!
But this time around, the Raps set up shop at a hotel on the other side of the Hudson River - in Jersey - as availability in NYC was hard to come by.
Our resident tour guide for the NY/NJ area - Jack Armstrong - told me that the first thing I should do when I checked into my hotel room in Jersey … was … open the curtains, and check out the view.
So I took Jack’s advice. Before I even unpacked my bag or turned on the TV (or a light), I pulled the drapes open.
In the distance - just to the right a little bit - the Statue of Liberty.
To my left - seemingly close enough for me to reach out and touch - the New York City skyline. But more specifically … the part of the NYC skyline that used to be home to the World Trade Center.
I can’t imagine the horrific, unobstructed view the folks in Jersey had of the disaster of 9/11. I saw the pictures in the papers and the videos on TV, but to see this perspective - first-hand from my hotel room - simply opened a vault of memories for me.
I was on the air - on the FAN 590 - hosting a talk show on the night of 9/11. Hours after the towers came down and the world started to react, I was on the radio trying to make sense of it all. That night - and for nearly two weeks following - the FAN 590 became more than a sports station. We became a news and human interest station.
On the night of 9/11 I talked to a survivor from the 2ND tower. I also spoke to that gentleman’s wife - who was frantically trying to reach her husband in New York. See, phone lines (land lines and cell phones) were jammed within the city … but some folks were having success calling into the city from outside NY. Thus, I managed to reach this survivor’s wife … to inform her that her husband was alive … he was coming on the radio with us … and he was trying to get in touch with her.
It was the last time I cried.
That’s just one memory from one person; a person who has little connection to the city of New York … other than as a tourist and broadcaster. I can’t imagine the emotional roller coaster that guys like Jack Armstrong go through every time they come back to this area - especially when they take-in this view.
Jack was born and raised in Brooklyn so New York (and even Jersey I’m sure) is in his heart. It’s “home” to him. But I would have to think that coming home is bitter-sweet for him as well - ever since 9/11 - when he comes back to the scene of the crime and he’s instantly reminded of the friends and ‘family’ he lost that day.
Thus, in honor of Jack - in honor of the friends he lost - and for all of those out there that lost loved ones that day, I open my curtains and take in the view.
For now, basketball takes a backseat in my mind. I’ll think about the Nets and Raptors in a little while. But I’m going back to my view for now.
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I thought that story was relevant given the fact that we’re back in that same hotel again this season - for one time only. Through the POURING rain, I’ve taken-in the view a few times already.
I’m going to make it a habit - a tradition - to revisit that column every time we stay in New Jersey. It’s a story and a memory that should never be forgotten; just like 9/11 itself.
I’ll be back later in the day with another VLOG - with Jonesy.
E. Smith
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Great Stuff Eric, I will never forget where I was that fateful morning. I have family in NYC. I’m waiting for your Vlog!!
- Lanny @ RBC from WhitbyThanks for this, Eric. I’m Absent Friends by S.J. Rozan, set in the aftermath of 9/11. There’s a wonderful description how after 9/11 a regular early morning pick-up game at the Y became a passing game - “the thrill of setting a teammate up in a smooth and beautiful play trumped the thrill of sinking a basket”. Long ago learned that basketball is more than a game.
- J. Mannette