To some observers,
the controversial tie in last year's All-Star Game was
a disaster ... a disgrace ... a catastrophe. But was it?
Perhaps the past year has given us some perspective. Actually,
all the perspective we needed came less than a year before
last year's Midsummer Classic.
It seems that
some baseball fans and analysts forgot to redefine their
terms
post-9/11.
In the days
after Sept. 11, 2001, pro athletes and sports journalists
alike declared that the language of heroism is rightfully
reserved for paramedics, firefighters, police officers
-- those who risk their lives for others without fanfare.
ESPN The Magazine's
9/11 cover story expressed it well: "These were the
days when heroism and villainy were redefined. ... The
clichéd descriptions we so freely bestow on our
athletes -- words like courageous, tireless, inspirational
-- have taken on deeper meanings. ... Never again will
a playoff or final or bowl seem quite as 'huge.' "
Never,
that is, until the All-Star Game ends in a tie. When the
Midsummer Classic had no winner, we whined like a toddler
whose toy was taken away. It seems that some baseball
fans and analysts forgot to redefine their terms post-9/11.
.