Thoughts On A Sad Anniversary

TigerBlog was in the press box for the field hockey game Saturday afternoon when PA announcer Rob Hegner asked the crowd to join in a moment of silence on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

As TB stood there for the few seconds of silence, all of the memories of that awful day in 2001 came flooding back to him. 

The weather Saturday in Princeton was perfect. In fact, in the official stats of the game, TB wrote this under the "weather" heading: "Crystal Clear, low 70s." It didn't dawn on him until the moment of silence that the words "crystal clear" also took him back 20 years.

When you ask anyone at all who was old enough to remember that day what they think, they're almost unanimous in the first thing they say: The weather was crystal clear. Extended out a bit, they say that their next thought was this: "How in the world could a plane fly into the World Trade Center on a day this clear?"

That's certainly what TB thought as he stood in the parking lot outside of the University League Nursery School, on the far end of the parking lot that used to be outside of Jadwin Gym. It was a thought that at first was confusing - how could a plane fly into a building on a day that clear.

Then, as his mind started to process it, things quickly went from "confusing" to "panicked" when it became apparent that this wasn't something innocent. TB is pretty sure that those thoughts and emotions were shared by so many other people that morning as they also stood outside and felt the warm sunshine as the news first broke.

As TB looked out at the players on the field from Duke and Princeton as they stood on Bedford Field in polite observance, it also dawned on him that so much time has gone by that here is a generation of college student who either were babies at the time or weren't even born. Lily Webb, who scored the Princeton goal in the game, is a freshman who wasn't born until 2003. Hannah Davey, who assisted on the goal, was less than a year old on 9/11.

He hopes that these young people paid close attention to the emotions of the day from those who were adults back then and that those emotions resonated in some way.

TB couldn't bring himself to watch any of the specials or the TV reviews of the events of that day. They're too seared into his memory to have to watch them again anyway. 

He did spend a great deal of time thinking about John Schroeder and his father Jack Schroeder. TB wrote about the father and son last week, in advance of the anniversary. John Schroeder, who had been near the top of the North Tower on 9/11 and was killed that day at the age of 31, was a defenseman on the Princeton men's lacrosse 1992 NCAA championship team.

TB heard from a lot of people who read the story. Some of them were people he didn't know. Some were current and former Princeton men's lacrosse players. He wants to share some of the comments with you:

From a former player:

I just wanted to reach out and let you know how moved I was by your piece about John Schroeder today. It took me a while to get through it because I kept tearing up. 9/11 is a difficult day for my dad, who lost dozens of friends and colleagues that day. I remember my parents becoming emotional at my graduation when they realized that the award I received was in memory of a 9/11 victim. I obviously never met John but I now feel like I know him after reading his story. He sounds like someone you want to be around, someone you want on your team. I now have an even greater appreciation and respect for him and his family. I look forward to reconnecting with the PU lacrosse family at games and reunions this spring after a much too long hiatus. Reading the anonymous comments from John’s teammates served as a jarring reminder of the special fraternity that is Princeton Lacrosse.

 

From a former administrator:  

Schroeder was one heck of an athlete and under Tierney became not just a better athlete, but a better Princetonian a better man.  He was a good man. 9/11 hit all of us and especially those who knew folks who worked in the two buildings. Your story was a reminder to cherish the memories of those people.  Thanks.

 

From a stranger:  

My son has always worn the Number 14 in every sport he played.. we never understood why – but he chose that number when he was about 5… Maybe some divine inspiration from “Stinky." Since we live maybe 500yds from the Commack Memorial at Commack HS… I will take a ride this evening and thank John in person for looking after our son.

 

From a current Princeton lacrosse parent: 

 

Last night, I drove by the Pentagon and they have a beam of light shining into the sky where the building was hit on 9/11.  It’s hard to believe it all happened twenty years ago.  I wanted to thank you for writing the piece on John Schroeder as I did not know his story and connection to Princeton lacrosse.  

 

From a former player: 

 

I hugged my two boys just a bit tighter last night after I finished your piece. I never got the chance to meet Stinky, but I see his name all the time on my old helmet, and I remember all-too-well what it felt like to wear his #14 onto the field against Cuse in 2002.