Two decades later, New York’s fans have not forgotten
Days after hijacked planes struck the Twin Towers in September 2001, Mets players, coaches and staff drove back from Pittsburgh on a bus in the middle of the night. As the bus crossed the George Washington Bridge, the men fell silent as they all looked downtown at the smoldering World Trade Center. “That was the moment everybody realized our lives would never be the same,” former Mets First Baseman Todd Zeile remembered. Twenty years later, some of those same players stood in the center of Citi Field on Saturday evening, alongside dozens of first responders, New York department heads, and current and former governors to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 before the sold-out Mets-Yankees game.
A patriotic buzz was palpable during Saturday’s game, which marked the first time the Mets played the Yankees on 9/11 for the highly anticipated Subway Series. While many fans were dressed in their team’s garb, an almost equal number were sporting FDNY, “Never Forget”, or tribute t-shirts and donned red, white and blue outfits. Some wrapped themselves in American flags. Throughout the venue and during the ceremony, crowds chanted “U-S-A”.
A similar atmosphere had surrounded the games played in the fall of 2001. Rob Frangione, a 28-year-old Mets fan, attended a game just weeks after the 9/11 attacks that year and recalled crowds booing at a Canadian couple who didn’t stand for the national anthem. Zeile remembered feeling amazed at the outpouring the players received walking onto the field for their first game back after 9/11 against the Braves on September 21, 2001. “This wasn’t just your average day at the ballpark” he said. On that night, they brought in Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to throw the first pitch and Diana Ross to sing “God Bless America”. After the national anthem, players from the Mets and the Braves came together to hug and shake each other’s hands instead of returning to their dugouts. Zeile explained that on that night at Shea Stadium, compassion overtook competition.
In 2001, Shea Stadium served as more than just a baseball arena for the Mets. In the initial aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the stadium was used as a staging area for rescue efforts and many Mets players were closely involved. During Saturday’s game, footage of Shea Stadium and clips from the Braves game played on the jumbotron. A highlight of Mike Piazza’s famous and emotional home run that propelled the Mets to victory elicited widespread applause at Citi Field two decades later.
Saturday evening’s game did not lack the typical rowdy energy of a New York crowd, but for the 45-minute 9/11 tribute, the entire stadium remained respectful. Anais Reno, a 17-year-old jazz-based singer, kicked off the ceremony with a performance of “America the Beautiful” followed by a remembrance video played on the jumbotron showcasing scenes of the World Trade Center wreckage, survivors, and first responders right after the attacks. The video brought many people in the stands to tears. Former Mets players escorted a number of different city department workers, including the New York Fire Department and the New York Police Department, onto the field. Among those on the field was NYPD Sergeant Haynes, a long-time Mets fan. “The ceremony wasn’t as emotional as I thought it would be. I was more so awestruck just to be on the field,” he said.
Other highlights of the ceremony included a moment of silence for reflection (nearly successful if not for a few whistles), the national anthem sung by New York police officers and the New York City Children’s Chorus, and a display of star-shaped American flags. Former Mets player and manager Bobby Valentine threw the first pitch to former Yankees manager Joe Torre, a moment met with cheers across the stadium.
Throughout the ceremony and national anthem, current Mets and Yankees players stood interchangeably, a departure from the traditional lineup in which teams stand facing one another. Jay Horwitz, Vice President of Media Relations for the Mets, said that this was an intentional decision for Saturday’s game. “On this night, everyone is one,” Horwitz explained.
Haynes disagreed with this sentiment. A simple “no’’ was his response to whether he thinks that sports help bring communities together. He agreed that right after 9/11, it may have helped, but ultimately fans are fiercely competitive by nature. Sure enough, just minutes after the sobering 9/11 ceremony ended on Saturday and the game began, fans were yelling expletives and throwing food at one another. A father warned his son he “would be killed by someone” if he said anything nice about the Yankees. To Zeile, though, this is what makes New Yorkers who they are. New Yorkers are loyal to their teams, but they’re also loyal to their city, regardless of whether they’re Mets, Yankees, Jets or Giants fans.
The remarkable attendance on Saturday served as proof of this loyalty. Citi Field Supervisor Ken Gunser proclaimed that it was one of the top seven most attended games at the stadium in the last ten years. An older spectator in the stands noted that this was the most packed baseball game he’d ever been to. Gunser confirmed security for this game was stronger than a typical event at Citi Field, but still did not compare to the first game back in 2001 when snipers were placed in the light towers at Shea Stadium.
The fear of gathering in large crowds that has mired life during the global Covid pandemic was surprisingly absent during the game. Even with the Delta variant raging through the country, the atmosphere at Citi Field felt like life prior to the pandemic.
The sentiment on Saturday stood in stark contrast to the sporting events played in the fall of 2001. Twenty years ago, the country’s fear of terrorism seemed to infiltrate every aspect of life, including going to a baseball game. Frangione remembered being nervous about attending a Mets game that fall, and his parents questioned whether they should go at all. For Major League Baseball, there was some debate around when to resume games, but the resounding sentiment at that time was that they had a duty to get back on the field and represent normalcy and strength. “The fear and any sense of trepidation, at least for me, was completely replaced by the sense that it’s time, the city needs to have something to cheer for,” Zeile said.
Many people around the globe tuned into the televised twentieth-anniversary commemoration given by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in which three former presidents attended and family members read names of victims. This event touched millions by providing a somber tribute in a place where the Twin Towers once stood. The Mets-Yankees game did not generate the same intense emotion and sadness. But it didn’t need to. In the wake of 9/11 and twenty years later, what these games provided for New Yorkers was a sense of pride in the resilience of their city.
