The city of Boston was also able to heal through the sports. This began as soon as the first blast sounded. The heroism of former New England Patriots player Joe Andruzzi helped to tone down the shock and terror of the bad scene at the finish line. He carried those who needed help away from the bombing so that they could receive medical attention and came to a woman’s aid as she tried to right herself (Farrar.)
Support from sports also came from an unusual place, Boston’s number one enemy, the New York Yankees. What had happened in Boston did not just affect the city of Boston. The rest of the country was just as horrified and scared as Bostonians. The New York Yankees wanted to show that they would stand behind them.
The Yankees used Twitter to announce that they would have a special moment of silence in their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and a stadium-wide rendition of Fenway Park favorite “Sweet Caroline” at the end of the 3rd inning (Laird.)
The Boston Bruins also showed its support for its city at the first home game after the bombing with a moving performance of the national anthem. Rene Rancourt lowered his microphone and allowed the audience to sing with him (Bain.)
“What happened the last few days, it put things into perspective,” Boston Bruin Patrice Bergeron said. “You make sure you realize that we’re trying to do this for our city and it was special to be part of it (Gulizia.)”
Although it doesn’t seem like much, sports played a large role in helping people to work through and overcome the sadness of the Boston Marathon bombing. Bostonians have rallied behind their teams and put their energy toward watching a game and focusing on the happiness that comes with watching sports.
Boston Bombing Aftermath 