25 Years Ago Today……

I've spent a good part of my life working with coaches, teachers and student athletes in many different scenarios. Today my profession centers around covering high school basketball players in addition to working with those events that student athletes compete in. But it didn't start that way....

On September 11th, 2001 I was student teaching at Waite Park Elementary and it was about the second week of class. Obviously I had no idea what I was doing and I was an immature 23 year old to go with it. In fact, I've always felt I needed to apologize to Kammie Tollefson (teacher at Waite Park, and the mother of Totino-Grace standout Shay Jackson Shay Jackson 6'0" | PG Totino-Grace | 2027 State MN ) and Dennis Stockmo (Minneapolis Roosevelt, former high school coach and teacher) for leaving them a mess after I moved on, lol.

It was a Tuesday morning and I remember it clear as day...... Mrs Tollefson and I were walking around the gym and there were students sitting in lines on the floor and there was an announcement for all teachers and staff members to come to the principal's office. I remember thinking "there was a fight at a different school the day before, I wonder if this has something to do with why we have to go to the office?"

As the staff walked into the office the principal began talking but paused, she was looking to left then and out of nowhere, she screamed. At that point the second plane hit the South Tower. The principal began instructing the staff on how to handle this situation but my mind was so angry that I didn't listen to a word the principal said. Kammie made the smart decision to just have me sit in the physical education office and keep an eye on what was going on in New York City on the news. From that office I remember watching the South Tower fall and then the North Tower fall.

I was shook.

At this point in my life I was riding the city bus from Waite Park to Hennepin Avenue where I lived with friends in a house (my car was a 1986 station wagon, it was not doing so well lol). On the bus a man was yelling at anybody that looked at him as I believe he was angered by people judging him for being of Middle Eastern decent. I remember being scared for him, and scared myself. The bus dropped passengers off on Hennepin right at the bridge that goes over 35W. And at that stop is a very clear view of downtown Minneapolis. It then dawned on me.... what if somebody attacks Minneapolis?

I then walked home rapidly, turned on the news and was consumed with sadness, uncertainty and fear. I needed a break so I went to lift weights at the University of Minnesota rec center but it was closed. I needed something to eat but restaurants were closed. The rest of the day was spent in disbelief until I went outside and just sat on the porch. I remember my mother felt this was a good time to tell me I needed to get a new night job because I needed more money, thanks mom lol.

But I also looked up to see a plane circling Minneapolis and it was obvious that this was a military plane protecting the city as airports were shut down everywhere.

In the days that followed there were different waves of emotion: there was a deep sadness for all the lives that were lost, there was a sense of anger that somebody would do this to our country, and then the sense of pride started to come. The George Bush statement of "I can hear you! I can year you, the rest of the world can hear you, and the people that knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!" at Ground Zero still holds as one of the most passionate phrases of my life time.

That Friday, September 14th, my roommates and I walked across the street to the Goalline bar and grill. They had karaoke that night so friend Michael Olson and I sand three songs. One of them was "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood and the 30-40 people in the building stood and sang together with such pride. There were a couple war veterans in the building that were crying and everybody was joined together no matter the age, the culture, the gender or.... political party.

As the days went by we saw Mike Piazza hit a memorable home run, we saw George Bush throw the ultimate strike at Yankee Stadium, and we saw college and professional football players run onto the field with incredible passion. We came together in a way that I haven't felt since. For those of you that need a look, SportsCenter put together an amazing video package that I will never forget, I have linked it below:

Later that year I student taught at Minneapolis Rosevelt and things were different. We were on an emotional edge every day when student teaching, when in grad classes, and living each day. Still to this day I can't help but worry about what a plane is doing if it goes anywhere near the city, or if it makes an odd noise, or if that plane seems to be a little bit lower. That will never go away. When I walk a lot of stairs and get tired I always think "if those firefighters can climb 50 flights of stairs at the World Trade Center to save people I can climb these".

Fast forward twenty-five years and I am still watching/listening to the reading of the names at the site of the 9/11 Memorial. I feel I have to do it, I can't tell you why but I feel like it's forever important that I hear the names of the victims, that I see people honor the fire fighters and police officers, and I hear the stories from the loved ones that speak every year.

This year I almost stepped away from watching/listening to the reading of names but when I drove by the Wacona fire department after dropping my son Jackson off at school, I saw that the fire department had placed a giant American flag at the top of the boom arm/aerial ladder for everybody in the town to see. I then made sure to drive by the fire department so Clara, my daughter, could see the firetruck and flag, and I told her why it's important.

It's been twenty-five years and still that day in September has daily remembers. There hasn't been a day that I have watched Shay play for Totino-Grace or Minnesota Select that I haven't thought back to that Waite Park Elementary classroom. Whenever I hear "Minneapolis Roosevelt" I think of the months that followed 9/11 and what life was like in 2001 and into 2022.

Life has moved on but the reminders of September 11th will be there forever.