I was in the eighth grade. I woke up excited on the morning of September 11, 2001 because I was going to Miller Park that evening to watch the Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals.
I arrived at school and it wasn't long before my teacher told us that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center in New York City. As the days events unfolded, it became clear to me that I wasn't going to be seeing any baseball that evening.
OUR NATION WAS UNDER ATTACK.
As I look back on that day 14 years ago, all I can remember was the anger that unified our country. Not a hateful anger necessarily, but an anger that insisted we weren't going to allow this to happen. Not in America. Not in our house.
President George W. Bush wan't perfect, but he was the perfect leader for us at that moment in time. I still can recall the goosebumps I got when he spoke to a crowd at Ground Zero a few days after the attacks. A man yelled out from the distance, "We can't hear you!." To which the natural leader replied,
“I can hear you. The rest of the world can hear you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”
Sidenote: Watch this 30 for 30 short film that was produced by ESPN. It will be worth your time.
30 for 30 Shorts: First Pitch
Our country was united through tragedy and we had a leader that had a genuine care for others. He did not care about himself at that point, but he cared for his people and was willing to fight for them. I will never forget those that died and will always remember the courage we had as a country. Together.