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by
Joe - jgand@pcfootball.net
9-9-05
It’s
that time of year again…
…time
to remember the fallen…
…only
this time, it’s different.
There
are so many things to think about come this September 11th,
and I’m not just talking about the 4th anniversary,
or the fact that Bin Laden hasn’t been found yet, or that we
are now in a war that has divided the country in a way we
haven’t seen since Vietnam.
There
are the pictures and sounds coming out of
New Orleans
to consider.
Hurricane
Katrina practically buried the city under an avalanche of water
this past week. Only now are relief efforts making their way to
the stricken city; and I can only hope that they are not too
little too late. It will take months, maybe even years before
the city is able to get back up on its feet again. The cleanup
will take forever, but that is nothing compared to the history
that has been lost to us forever.
It
is in this vein that a lot of people will say that it is not
appropriate for sports to be taking place in
Louisiana
right now. They will say that for people to enjoy themselves at
a sporting event is showing disrespect towards the people in the
Big Easy who are suffering right now, and that the weekend’s
schedules should be cancelled.
To
that I say: “Bullshit!”
Sports
can be a tonic for those who have suffered tragedy. It is a
signal that life can someday return to normal, and it can serve
as a welcome distraction from the tragic events that occurred
last week. To cancel games would be a sign that we have just
given up, that we are going to let adversity beat us down and
keep us down without any effort to move on.
Don’t
believe me? Then think back to a night four years ago at Shea
Stadium, the first game played in
New York City
after 9/11. Remember the feeling you had when Mike Piazza hit
that walk-off Home Run and everyone at Shea was on their feet
and cheering? That was the moment that everybody knew that
everything was going to be all right. It was going to take some
time, but we were going to be able to heal from our wounds and
sports were going to play a part in that.
Same
thing can happen today. You don’t think that the New Orleans
Saints have a new purpose going into this season? You think
there isn’t a “Win one for the Gipper” mentality in that
locker room now? I would think that every time they take the
field the Saints are going to be carrying the hearts of every
citizen of
New Orleans
onto the field with them. Just as the Jets, Giants, Redskins,
Mets and Yankees did in the days after 9/11.
Now,
having said that, it’s time to re-print a certain column…
I
still remember where I was. I don’t think I will ever forget
where I was when I heard the news.
I
was getting ready for work in my living room, sitting in front
of the TV watching SportsCenter as usual. ESPN News broke in
with a special bulletin, with some news that The
World
Trade
Center
in
New York
had been attacked. They wanted us to turn to ABC News for more
details.
I
didn’t think much of it and I thought that it wasn’t a big
deal because they didn’t give out very many details. I
continued to watch SportsCenter as I put my shoes on, and I saw
it down on their sports ticker. They usually flashed the scores
from the previous night’s games, but on this September morning
they flashed something that I will never forget –
WTC
collapse after…
…planes
crashed into towers…
…tune
to ABC for more details.
The
first thing that I thought was "What?" "WHAT?!?
NO FUCKING WAY!!!"
I
grabbed the remote and punched the buttons to switch to ABC as
fast as I could…
…and
that’s when I saw it…
…a
huge cloud of dust in the place where the Twin Towers once
stood.
It
was at this moment that my wife decided to come out of the
bedroom. The first thing she saw was the look on my face. She
kept asking me what was wrong and my mouth could barely form the
words. "The
World
Trade
Center
in
New York
was attacked. Both of the towers have collapsed. They’re
gone."
She
came in and watched the TV with me, and we both sat there,
dumbfounded as they replayed the collapse of Tower 1. Neither
one of us could believe what had happened. But there was more
– a plane had crashed into the Pentagon as well. Not only
that, but there was another plane still out there, and it was a
plane that was supposed to be on its way to the West Coast!
Specifically LAX!
Since
I live in the
Southern California
area my mind raced as I tried to think of all the targets that
terrorists could possibly hit out here. The most obvious was the
Boeing plant at the
Long Beach
Airport
just a few miles down the street from where I live. The next one
was TRW, just a few miles away from where I work! Both companies
are defense contractors, and they would have made some pretty
good targets. I called into work to get some advice on whether I
should come in or not because we didn’t know if we were going
to be safe. I was told to come on in.
I
went in and kept a radio at my desk so that I could get the
latest news and pass it on to everyone else at the office. As
the day wore on we gradually heard the story. About how the
planes were hijacked and deliberately crashed into the towers.
We also heard of the fourth plane that had gone down in a
Pennsylvania
field, and how they weren’t sure if it had been hijacked or
had gone down on its own. Later we would hear the stories of how
the passengers had decided to fight back, and paid for their
bravery with their lives.
We
all know the story that followed – the rescue effort that
turned into recovery. The clean up of what became known as
"Ground Zero" which was just completed yesterday. The
deployment of troops to
Afghanistan
to find Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Queda network. W’s stirring
call to arms before a joint session of congress. The donations
that poured in to
New York
and the tributes that followed.
So
I know what you are thinking. What does any of this have to do
with PC Football?
Nothing…
…and
everything.
Recently
there was a football game played – a real football game. But
these were not NFL players that took the field. No, these were
true heroes. These were the players from the FDNY Bravest
Football Club and the NYPD Finest Football Club. Both of these
teams met in the 30th annual "
Fun
City
Bowl" on May 19th. The game was originally
slated for
St. John’s
University
, but because of the demand for tickets it was moved to Giants
Stadium in
New Jersey
– directly across from Ground Zero.
The
game itself was a penalty filled affair. These were not
NFL-tested veterans on the field. These were cops and
firefighters that played football because they loved the game.
But more importantly, they played to honor their lost brothers.
Lost in the rubble of the
Twin
Towers
, but never forgotten in their hearts. This fact was in evidence
before the game, as the "Bravest" recognized the
surviving family members of the 22 team members out of the 343
firefighters who were lost on September 11th. Group
after group of parents, widows, and children were escorted to
midfield to receive the player’s framed jersey bearing a
plaque inscribed "Forever a hero on our team." The
NYPD was fortunate not to lose any team members that day, but
they did honor the 23 fellow officers who perished on
9/11.
In
the end the NYPD prevailed 10-0 to record their 9th
straight win over the FDNY, and take a 21-9 lead in the series,
but none of that mattered. What mattered was that they had come
together to raise money for 9/11 charities, and to honor their
brethren.
That
is what I have tried to do recently.
I
made a new roster for Madden 2002. I created the FDNY Bravest
and the NYPD Finest and put them into their own file. I used the
teams that were created by Bly Gilmore on MaddenMania, which
evened up the Maniac and Instigator rosters, and moved those
players onto the FDNY and NYPD rosters. I had intended to change
the names of the players on both teams to reflect the rosters
for the fire and police teams. I was able to find the actual
roster for the FDNY, but I am unable to fine the roster for the
NYPD. I have included the file for the FDNY, which contains the
FDNY names, along with positions, numbers, height and
weight.
If
anybody out there can find the NYPD roster and wants to make the
changes, I invite you to do so. I also ask that if you do find
them, if you could share them with the rest of us who have the
rosters, we would be very grateful. In this way we can all pay
tribute to those men who gave their lives on that terrible day
every time we play with these teams.
I
know that is what I will be doing every time I play with those
rosters.
Now
last year I didn’t produce the rosters for the FDNY and NYPD
Football teams for Madden 2005. Since the rosters could be
transferred over from Madden 2004 there wasn’t really a sense
of urgency to it.
However,
that is not the case this year…
This
year I have produced the FDNY Bravest and the NYPD Finest
Football clubs for Madden 2005, complete with actual player
Names, Numbers, etc.
But
this year, I decided to go one better…
I
didn’t stop with the FDNY and NYPD. I also produced the rest
of the teams that play in the National Public Safety Football
League. So in addition to the FDNY and NYPD You will be able to
play with the Philadelphia Blue Flame, DSNY Strongest, Orlando
Guardians, DFW Panthers, Houston Gunners, Phoenix Thunder, L.A.
Heat, California Blue Knights, Orange County Lawmen and the L.A.
Centurions. Now thanks to the work of OzWolf you can use his
team swapper to place each of these teams into a franchise file
and play a schedule with these teams.
I
hope that the rosters meet with everyone’s approval.
Also
I will soon be starting the regular season schedule for the PC
Football Instigators…
…in
New Orleans
against the Saints.
And
when I do, I will be thinking about everyone in “The Big
Easy” who needs help tonight.
Until
next time…
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