Latest / OneLegUpAlex Sports / Terminello's Take Reflects on September 11th recorded 9-11-26

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Terminello's Take Reflects on September 11th recorded 9-11-26 · OneLegUpAlex Sports

• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Blue Terminillo, we're having a huge day here at AIM
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: 970 The Answer, you know, honoring the lost ones on 9-11,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: and I just want to take time on my own
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: podcast to talk with you, because I do think it's
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: fitting the Yankees and Mets meet tonight, considering the Those
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: two teams, in their own ways, the Piazza Homer and
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: the Yankees' incredible run in the 0-1 postseason that did
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: not end up in the World Series, but still incredible, nonetheless,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: healed our city just weeks after that horrible day 25
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: years ago.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Alex, thanks for having me. It's a day I'll never forget.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: I remember it like it was last year. You know,
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: when you... As time goes on, it even gets more
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: frustrating how people just pass it up as just another day.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: But what really happened that day is something I'll never forget,
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: something I never thought could happen in America. I didn't
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: think that we would see America attacked on home soil. And,
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: you know, the fact that baseball was a part of
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: bringing– country to the next level as far as all
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: the tragedy that went on for that time. And again, Alex,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: I mean, if you, again, if anybody doesn't remember that,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: and I feel so sorry for some of the young
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: people who aren't being taught what really happened that day.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: I mean, when I was in high, when I was
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: in grammar school and high school, I mean, I knew
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: about December 7th, 1941, which was about 25 years from
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: when it happened, you know, in the mid sixties. Um,
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: so that, that part, I'm glad that sports had a
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: hook into it because that, that, that sports hook helps
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: us remember what happened that day and that we weren't
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: going to be afraid. We were going to go on, um,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Finish the baseball season. Keep going on like America does.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Just like in World War II, when the commissioner of baseball,
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Judge Landis, asked President Roosevelt, should we shut down the season?
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: And President Roosevelt said, no, no, no, no. America needs baseball.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: We need baseball during World War II.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: And we needed baseball- And of course, the told stories,
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: I should say, is that a lot of these players
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: did break away from their teams to serve their country,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: which is even more admirable that they broke away to
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: serve our country.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: That is correct.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: I mean, Ted Williams is famously known, cut his playing
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: time short to honor, to serve his country. I mean,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: that alone.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: That alone is heroic. He did it in two wars.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: He did it in World War II. He did it
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: in the Korean War. It took six years out of
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: the prime of his life. He had 521 home runs.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: How many home runs would he have hit if– let's
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: give him 40. Let's give him another 240 home runs.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: That's 735, 750, somewhere around there. But like in the
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Piazza Homer, were you in the stadium for that? No,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: I was not. I was home. As a matter of fact,
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: I also had a place down the Jersey Shore at
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: that time, and I was watching it down there. And yes,
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: it was memorable. I didn't think it was as big
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: a deal at that time, I'm being honest with you,
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: because the Mets were out of it. They were hanging
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: on by a thread at that point. of a playoff spot.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: They weren't out of it. They actually won the next
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: day and then blew a game on that Sunday, September 23rd.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: That might have got them a little closer, but that's
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: neither here nor there. The Piazza home run I thought
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: might have been a little overrated, but now 25 years later,
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: It's not. I mean, even with the Yankees in the
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: World Series, I appreciate both of those events now more
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: than I did then. And I mean, the way.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: That happened, though, they come home down 0-2, all of
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: a sudden they win those three games. And, you know, actually,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: think about it. If it's not for the Jeter flip,
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: they may not even get to the ALCS. That's how
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: crazy you are.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: That's a postseason that was. Yep. And that all happened.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: And how I remember it most is because I did
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: this as a kid at 9, 10 years old. I
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: put the whole American flag in the back of my
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: jersey like everybody else did. And I'll never forget how
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: they honored America during that time. And, of course, you know,
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: I met Larry Boa a couple times, and he was
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: crying when they first came back, tears streaming down his face.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: Another iconic moment in baseball is Philly's manager. He's just
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: sitting there crying, overwhelmed with emotion.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Well, it was emotional. There was no doubt about it.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: That night when they introduced both the first game back
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: in New York, when they introduced the Braves and the Mets,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: they lined up. you know, on their respective baselines, and
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: then they hugged each other. It was all just... And
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: it definitely helped. I appreciate it now more than I
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: did then. And yet tonight.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: I.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: Don't know why.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Well, because we're all 25 years older, and it's kind
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: of like you see it in a different perspective.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: Like, today's been... Normally, I can breeze through.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: The anniversary because, you know, you honor it, you think
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: of it from a media standpoint... like I do, and
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: from a personal standpoint too, but this year it hit
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: me a little more than it normally does because I
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: was right on time to be there to see the
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: crowd standing there to honor the 846 plane crash. And
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: it brought me back to being in that fifth grade
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: room when they said over the loudspeaker, don't tell anybody,
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: but we think a plane had just hit the World
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Trade Center. And then of course, at 906, the second one, I.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Remember exactly where I was. I was in my office
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: in East Rutherford, New Jersey. And I walked back.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Like at 34 years old, I think I understand it
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: more than I did even at 25 or 24. The
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: thing is, we cannot, we can never forget.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: And we can never forget what the baseball players have
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: done over those over the last 25 years. I know
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: the Mets go to that. And I can't think of
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: the firehouse number right now.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, Bush was over at ladder three, which
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: is really nice that he was over there.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, baseball did help. You know, New York Hill.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: And if you saw the Howie Rose documentary on SNY,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: he talks about that night. He talks about how before
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: the game, they didn't know what to expect. And what
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: do you got? You know, they said... Be careful what
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: you say. You can't say that's a bomb over the
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: center field fence. You know, any you can use any
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: of those type terms. And if and, you know, when
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Howie was doing it was on TV at the time,
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: the TV announcer. when Piazza hit that home run, which
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: was a rocket. It was gone the minute he hit it.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: But he said, this one has a chance. And the
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: reason he said it that way, because he was so
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: cognizant of the fact, he didn't want to say, you know,
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: a missile over the left center field fence or a
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: bomb over the left center field fence. And, you know,
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: he knew, like he said on that documentary, he said,
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: I know it was heading towards the white zone bridge.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: We just had to be so careful because it was
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: so close. It was 10 days after the attack.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: And.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, then obviously the World Series with the
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Jeter home run, the Brocious home run. You know, the
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Yankees came back from 2-0, go up 3-2. And, yeah, no,
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: there's no doubt about it. There was definitely a connection there.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: President Bush with the heavy bulletproof vest going out there
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: by himself. He didn't have a secret serviceman to his
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: right or his left. And he was out there defiantly saying,
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: you're not going to stop America being America. And yes,
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: baseball definitely, definitely played, played a part. And, um, uh,
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: just hopefully that we'll never have to see something like
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: that again.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: Well, Louie, it is certainly, you know, America's pastime and
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: very tied to everything about America, because as we said earlier,
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: the servicemen and women, um, The ballplayers joined them and
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: did their time serving our country. And you mentioned that
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: just a little while ago as well. Now, Lou, you know,
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: my dad and I did not go to the Subway
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: Series in 2021 on the night of. And I don't
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: know if that's just because I think my dad and
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: I were always in the same line of, why would
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: we go to a game on such a solemn day?
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: You know, I don't know if you feel the.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Same way about that, but.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: it is, not that they shouldn't play, but it's like, personally,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't really go. I've gone to a couple of
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: 9-11 games when they weren't playing each other and other teams,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: but like, I don't know. On these anniversary days, it
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: just hits home how staying close to family is much
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: more important.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: Well, I agree with you. Maybe this day should be
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: a– I think it should be a national day of remembrance.
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: I think stores should be closed. You know, only the
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: essential businesses should be open. Maybe baseball shouldn't play at
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: all on this day.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: I mean, the U.S. Open has their semifinal right now
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: going on. Look, that's a very interesting one, and we
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: can talk about that next week. But again, and then,
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I don't know, just– There's something about doing something on
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: 9-11 that bothers me.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: Does that make sense?
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: That's what I'm trying to say. Like, I don't know.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: You know, it makes sense. I understand what you're saying.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Because we all feel that pang.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: And we also, at the same time, needed baseball to
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: distract us as we started the show with. But maybe
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: one day we do put it aside and just say, well,
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: let it be in honor of the family members. You
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: go dark for a night, you know? You can make
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: it up another day, you know?
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: Of course, absolutely, they could.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: Again, we.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: Like sports for a lot of reasons, and one of
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: the reasons is it takes us away from our everyday life,
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: whether it's problems. It's a diversion for us. Sports is
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: a diversion for us.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: What I will say is... And we'll talk about football
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: next week, but I will say this. It also was
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: sort of the weird, that weird NFL year, because I
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: don't remember, I don't think they started on time, if
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken, or whatever. They started maybe a week later,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: I think, or whatever that was.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: Well, they started, the season was, I think, it was
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: the second week when 9-11 hit. The Giants played Denver
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: the night before on Monday Night Football in Denver. And
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: they like landed at seven o'clock in the morning, New
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: York time, just before the attacks started. And then I
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: don't believe there was no game the next week, no
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: NFL games next week. I think it was the week after.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: I forget where the Jets were, or the Jets were
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: probably home, but the Giants were in Kansas City. And
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: that's always about 10 days later. So I think it
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: was the 23rd. What they did was they took the
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: two-week Super Bowl week and they just made it a
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: one week between the championship games and the Super Bowl.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: That's what they did.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: Well, anyway, what it ended up being was actually the
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: start of Brady's– Dynasty because he won that 0-2 and
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: of course Vinatieri with his magic leg kicking that field
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: goal um but that 0-2 Super Bowl was very very
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: emotional I remember that um and it was interesting because
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: I used to do internship work at Dow Global Sports
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: and I had to do the DAT on that game
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: specifically and you could just hear all the different tributes
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: and all the different things um Yeah, that was the first.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Super Bowl after 9-11. It was three months after 9-11.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: And so wherever you are tonight, and if you're raising
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: the glass, because you know a lot of these firefighters
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: are actually honoring their brethren by toasting them with having
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: drinks and all that at O'Hara's Pub, which is a
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: great sight to see, just remember what today really is.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: And may we never lose sight of it. And Louie,
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: may we never, ever forget And I don't care if
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: people get tired of the name reading.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: It always has to happen.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: That is one constant of these ceremonies that I believe
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: in every year. I don't know about you, Louie.
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: Oh, I totally believe in it. And I watched a
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: lot of it today. Between, I had to step out
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: for a couple of hours. But when I came back,
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: they were still going. I believe 100%. The names always
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: have to be read. Have to be read. Absolutely.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: Well, Lou, on that note, enjoy the weekend.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: Who knows?
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: Yanks still don't have their entire lineup back. I mean,
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: they have Judge, so I think he's in there tonight. But,
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: you know, baseball is funny. This team is coming in hot,
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: as are the Mets. So, I don't know. It's going
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: to be a competition, I think.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: I hope so. I hope the Mets sweep them. Yeah.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: It's not that's not going.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: To happen, though.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: Well, Louie, I'll talk to you later and we'll do
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: this again soon with a further extended edition. You know,
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: we used to do the Sunday show. Maybe we should
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: do that again for week one. Maybe do like a
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: whip around Sunday morning. What do you think?
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: That that sounds good to me. And the NFL season
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: got off to a. You know, that got off to
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: an interesting start last night. You know, San Francisco was
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: ready to play and the Rams got in the day
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: before and they looked like they were jet lagged. But
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: we could talk about that more in detail either on
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Sunday or when we hook up the podcast next.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: Well, this has been a brief edition of Terminolo's Take
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: as we look back at sports' impact.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: 25 years ago to help us really understand heal.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: And by the way, that healing doesn't ever end. It's
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: still going on 25 years later. And that's my message.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. Sports is a fabric of America. It is. And
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: that's why we can't forget the importance of sports.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: And that's Lou's message and my message at One Leg
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: Up Alex Media.