EDITORIAL: THE DAY AFTER

Today is September 12th, and emotionally, I am getting over the hump.  Yesterday was hard.

I was distracted some what. I mean, my kid had a baseball game and that was fun, and we ran into friends and hung for a bit.  We even went to dinner and laughed and ate well.  It's Sunday in the Tri-State and so, you live your life and try to enjoy yourself.  But the whole day, September 11, 2001 lingered.  At the baseball game, I made it a point that we have a moment of silence and the teams were happy to participate and it was a touching moment. Looking out at the field with 14 and 15 year old kids, all a product of 9/11 standing there with their hats off looking at the flag, you got a chill.
Mostly everyone there had some type of connection to a family member or friend who lost their lives that day.  But as I said, when the game began, a must needed distraction happened.

In the Bronx there was another game taking place.  The New York Yankees were looking to extend their hot streak.  But that didn't happen as we all hoped.  The Rays woke up and the Yanks couldn't pull it off.

Every game matters now if the Yanks want to make the playoffs, but maybe the Yanks and our fans felt the same way I did yesterday. Anxious. Uncomfortable. Sad. Whatever it was, we as a team need to move past yesterday's loss just like we did on September 11, 2001 as a nation.

We as one America are strong, despite what the media will have you believe.  Sure, we have trouble, race relations seem strained, and in this day and age, that's unacceptable.  We have politicians name call, you know, the same thing you are told as a child NOT to do.

But I think about September 12, 2001 a lot.  It was that day that we were one nation of love thy neighbor and coming together as one.  We as Americans needed a tragedy to open our eyes that day.  We all wanted to love each other and protect each other back then.  These days, there isn't as much of that.  It puzzles me and it makes me queasy to think about all of it.

I have a large family now of kids that are smart, athletic and happy. My wife and I love raising them to be strong men.  We speak to them openly about being kind, working hard and knowing ones worth.  I'm not terribly religious, and it's not about that for me.  It's about being a good person.  The United States of America appears to be crumbling around us, but it you stop and look around, it's not.  Things have gotten sillier with the world of the Internet and cable TV.  There are fringe outlets out there that will try and scare the hell out of you, because there is something called free speech, but ultimately you need to read all opinions and come up with your own take. We as Americans need to stand strong together, protect each other, not always be closed minded with your own personal opinion and no one other's matters. That's silly.  The truth is all opinions matter. All lives matter. All Americans matter and to be perfectly honest all societies matter whether you want to believe it or not.  Just because it's not what you believe, don't get crazy, have a dialog, listen, learn, and live your life. We are one... we felt safer when we stuck together as one last time... on September 12, 2001.

I vowed to never, ever make Bleeding Yankee Blue into a political outfit. And this is the last piece you'll ever see of this kind.  We are about the New York Yankees, we fans and not only that, we expanded to baseball fans, common sense, humor and emotion.  That will never change. But I'd be lying if I told you that yesterday was a breeze, because it wasn't.  I wasn't right and I haven't been right on that day in 15 years.  But that's OK.  I've grown a lot since then.  I don't hate. I love, and when I looked out at my baseball field yesterday and witnessed 24, 15 year olds on the first and third base lines standing for a moment of silence, I'm gonna tell you something; for that 20 seconds, I was at peace, because that was my mini-America. It was the same feeling of unity I felt on September 12, 2001.

We need to do better as human beings, folks.  No matter the anniversary, the Yankees losing or whatever, it doesn't matter.  There's a much bigger picture here. We need to love again, stand together and grow as human beings.  What has happened to us.

I had to get that off my chest today, folks.  While I sat here back on September 14, 2010 and created my first Bleeding Yankee Blue post and now write for 6 years about the Yankees as a hobby, I've also managed to build the brand and bring in many eager writers of all nationalities and lifestyles.  Why? Because they have the same drive as I do; we're passionate people. We understand each other, we support each other and we love being read by all of you.  But there's something else... we have tremendous respect for each other.  In the end, we've become family, and you all are our family too.

America will move forward, so will the New York Yankees and so will BYB.  I just hope we all see the big picture here. We need to stand strong together and support each other.  Life's too short. Enjoy your family and friends and the people you are surrounded with. But never be afraid to venture out of your bubble. You'd be surprised what you'll learn. You may even make a friend for life... someone you'd never expect.

Think about it.