Current deaths

Boston on my mind

/ epilcher319 / Leave a comment

Throughout the history of the world there have been many tragedies. We have had Pearl Harbor, Exxon-Valdez, Waco, Columbine, 9/11 and many others that time and word count don’t allow me to list.

However, for the first time ever a national tragedy touched me personally and it occurred yesterday. This is when two homemade bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

For those that know me, you know I love the city of Boston. I call it my home away from home. I love the sports teams, the history, the food,  the Kennedys’ and yes I even swear by drinking Samuel Adams beer because it is the greatest beer ever (see true Bostonian through and through).

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Me before taking down the Beckett Big Mouth Berger during my first trip to Boston. I bleed Bean town!

Every year I go up to that amazing city. I go to Cheers, I see the Red Sox play at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, I touch the statue of Ted Williams, I walk through the Prudential District, I take the T (the transportation system in Boston), I even visit the museum of Arts and Science. Why? Because I LOVE THAT TOWN. To me it has something for everyone. It has history, sports, food, arts it literally has something for everyone.

To me, one of those things was taken away yesterday.

When I first heard the news I was stunned. The first thought I could muster is “Why Boston?” Then I started to cry because the day they chose was not just an attack on Boston it was an attack on our freedom. This is because they chose Patriots Day to commit this atrocious act.

For those that don’t know, Patriots Day commemorates the day the first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. It is held in the highest regard in Boston and celebrated, almost as much as Independence Day. It was this day a group of people that were huge underdogs decided they had enough with British rule and decided to fight back. Eventually they won and thus won OUR independence that we cherish and hold so dear.

The city of Boston celebrates this day, as they should. It is a government holiday, people in Massachusetts and Maine are given an extra day to complete their taxes, just so they can celebrate. The Boston Marathon is run on this day and the Red Sox play a game starting at 11 am just so people can see the runners run down Yawkey Way, right outside the famed Green Monster during the marathon.

To me this was a personal attack on those freedoms that were fought for and those freedoms that we still fight for on a daily basis. Then I think of the lives ruined, kids that died that were just celebrating a great day. A day without school, a day they were spending with their parents and just like that, with the flash of a homemade bomb and shrapnel; their young lives were cut down. Not to mention the people, finishing a marathon and crossing the finish line only to be injured or murdered by those same bombs.

I will be honest 9/11 did not really affect me. I was upset but I was not devastated and at the point of tears. I don’t know why that was. To me, 9/11 was a strategic act of war. They attacked our financial and military infrastructures and took innocent lives to do it. To me this was personal and not just because of my feelings of the town they attacked. This was an assault on the very day that America began its rise to the land of the free and the home of the brave.

You see everyone is saying pray for Boston. I must admit that is a nice thought. But rest assured Boston will be back and stronger than ever. That town will fight just like those brave men fought British rule. They will keep battling much like Paul Revere did on his famous ride and they will never quit just like the Red Sox did not quit when they were down 3-0 to the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS and fought back to win the World Series. That is the Boston I know and that is what Boston will always be. A city of fighters, workers and champions. That is what needs to be remembered in the annals of history.

So in closing I would like to leave you with a lyric from the song Dirty Water by The Standells. I type these words with pride in my heart, those lost on my mind and tears in my eyes….

I LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER, OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH,
BOSTON YOUR MY HOME

Just Win Baby, a motto for the American dream

/ epilcher319 / 1 Comment

Whether you loved or hated him, his death made you realize he was one in a million, the last of dying breed. Everyone should mourn the loss of Raiders Majority Partner Al Davis.

That is because Davis is the epitome of the American dream.

Al Davis, while serving a majorit partner of the Raiders led them to three Super Bowl championships and becomming one of the nations most recognizable sports franchises.

Think about it for a minute. Davis was a man that started in the National Football League as an assistant coach for the Los Angels Rams and from there rose through the ranks holding every position in the NFL ultimately becoming Majority Partner of the Raiders, a position he held until his death.

However, his most impactfull position he held was that of AFL commissioner. While serving that post he began to take the premier players from the National Football League, thus forcing them to merge and become the NFL we know today.
It was the shrewd businessman attitude that triggered many controversies surrounding Davis. He sued the NFL for not letting him move his team (he won), sued other teams (those cases never saw the courtroom) and was known to hold a grudge against anyone that crossed him or his “Rah-durs.”

Al Davis with his first of three Super Bowl championship. He enjoyed winning these and saw them as a way to defiy the NFL hierarchy

But, through all of the controversies Davis was a progressive man. He was the first owner to hire minorities as head coaches (he hired the second Latino coach in the history of the league and hired the first African-American coach) and was the first owner to hire a female for a front office position. He also believed in second chances often picking players that teams had cut for various reasons and giving them chances to play. More often than not these moves were successful.

What truly made Davis great was side that no one saw or knew until after his death. Davis always said “Once a Raider always a Raider” and he lived that quote. Whenever a former player, coach, front-office staff and even janitors needed help Davis was always there.

He coined the terms “Just Win Baby” and “Commitment to Excellence” and he held his team to those standards. Many will remember Davis for his disaster drafts of recent years and hiring and firing coaches at an accelerated rate. But I will remember his contributions to the game and the way he ran his team.

That is why owners like Davis are a dying breed. With the passing of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner there are only a few of these loud, ever present and successful owners. Now a day’s owners are content to be out of the spotlight and that is sad. So I implore those fans of sports remember Davis in a respectful way. Because his journey and his life is what the American dream is all about.