One of the more heartening results of last week’s tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon has been the overwhelming support both in the Bay State and elsewhere, from everyday Joes and celebrities alike. There have been too many to note them all, but here’s a quick rundown of some sports-centric responses.
The national anthem performed before the Bruins-Sabres game, by Rene Rancourt and the Garden faithful. The first sports spectator game since the bombings:
New Patriot’s receive Danny Amendola (aka Wes Welker’s replacement, gulp) tweets: “I will donate $100 for every pass I catch next season to whatever “Boston Marathon Relief Fund” there is. And $200 for any dropped pass.” (Here’s hoping Brady targets him often.)
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft pledges to donate $100,000 to the victims of the Marathon bombing. Boston Red Sox owners do the same. (As does Boston’s favorite Irish punk band, the Dropkick Murphys, through sales of their “For Boston” t-shirts.)
During an interfaith memorial service, President Obama referenced all the past championship parades that have gone down Boylston Street, the site of the bombing in downtwon Boston. Then “further suggested that one day soon, one of the Boston teams would once again win a championship,” notes Only A Game’s Bill Littlefield, “providing the city’s residents with another traditional parade down Boylston Street.”
Members of the UMass football team wore the names of the bombing victims on the backs of their jerseys during last weekend’s Spring Football Game at McGuirk Stadium.
And, of course, Big Papi emphatically swore on the microphone in front of a packed Fenway Park (to say nothing of everyone listening and watching, and re-watching, elsewhere): “This is our fucking city!” Ortiz proclaimed. “And nobody’s going to dictate our freedom! Stay strong!”
Wicked awesome.
