?Tuesday was a day for the nation to grieve for loss of lives, to dwell on the ugliness of terrorism and to discuss how this terrible act could possibly have happened.?
I was woken up at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept.11 by my suite-mates talking in the hallway.
I tried to ignore them and go back to sleep, but after a half-hour, it became apparent that they would be talking for a while and I had no chance of getting any more sleep.
I went to see what they were talking about and was confronted with the news that much of America had already heard. Commercial airplanes had crashed into each tower of the World Trade Center and another had crashed into the Pentagon.
Details were still sketchy at that point and I remember being unsure of exactly what was going on and how it had happened.
Shortly after I woke up, I heard that the Yankees had postponed their game against the Chicago White Sox. It made sense ? you do not want to pack more than 40,000 people into one place in a city that has just been struck by terrorism.
I immediately thought that Major League Baseball should cancel all of their games that night and, shortly thereafter, they did.
Tuesday was a day for the nation to grieve for the loss of lives, to dwell on the ugliness of terrorism and to discuss how this terrible act could possibly have happened. Nobody would have been able to play baseball, and nobody would have cared about the outcomes.
I remember being unable to focus on anything for more than 15 minutes without turning to talk to somebody about the events that had taken place in New York City and Washington, D.C.
We have now had time to absorb the shock of what happened just over a week ago. The nation has had time to mourn and athletes have had time to spend with their families.
So baseball has returned and will help us heal. As we begin to sit in stadiums and in front of televisions to watch the games resume, life will start to seem normal again.
We will get back part of what was taken from us and we will show everybody that we will go on with our lives and not hide away in fear.
Baseball has always been a way to relax. Its slow pace allows you to half watch games while you rehash memories of other games and other seasons with your friends and unwind from a long day.
People can discuss whether or not they want Roger Clemens to win another Cy Young award, and whether or not he deserves it.
While everybody is dealing with the uncertainty of how this tragedy happened and whether or not we are safe, baseball offers easier uncertainties. Baseball offers teams to root for in hopes of a championship, players to cheer on to records and award winners to argue about with friends.
Baseball ? like all sports ? is trivial, and thus safe. If your team does not make the playoffs or a player you do not like wins an award or breaks a record, you will survive.
You will face the same uncertainties next season and the season after, while you watch the Red Sox play the Yankees. And you will talk with your friends about the year the Mariners chased the record for wins, Barry Bonds assaulted the home run mark and baseball provided relief from tragedy.
Jacobs can be reached at bjacobs@campustimes.org.
