Wednesday, September 12, 2007

9/11 Remembered


The Liberty Cup (CREDIT: Chuck Burton)


I know some folks might not want to hear about the 9/11 anniversary on a sports blog. But I can't forget how much I was looking forward to the 2001 season starting, just as I was gazing out of my window at CNN and saw a ridiculously low-flying plane headed to the World Trade Center. We all know what happened next.

Just like this year, the 2001 season was filled with high hopes as super tailback Jonathan Reese was about to begin his senior year. Just like this year, the 2001 season was scheduled to begin at Fordham on Sept. 15th.

The game was first cancelled, and then re-scheduled for Thanksgiving morning. A very strong Ram team won 41-10. The following year, both schools decided to make the annual game a tribute to the Columbia and Fordham alumni who perished on 9/11 and the Liberty Cup was born.

I remain very proud of both Columbia and Fordham's decision to honor the victims and help their families. It's nice when a game we love can be a force for good in our university communities and in this great city.

3 Comments:

At Wed Sep 12, 04:05:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I too try to never forget the original purpose of the Liberty Cup. I hope the tradition of it goes on forever, and that students from both schools are always made aware of the background for the game.

Boy, however, was that Thanksgiving of 2001 a sad one. The loss that day only made it worse.

RS

 
At Wed Sep 12, 04:17:00 AM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I still think that the first Liberty Cup game should have been cancelled.

 
At Wed Sep 12, 08:48:00 PM GMT+7, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Norries and Company are going to have something for the Rams that they aren't expecting. It's nice to have a good with a few tricks up his sleeve.

 

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