Now that the suspect from the Boston Marathon Bombing has been detained and is still being questioned, the recovery phase of both Boston and the rest of the country has begun. With the presence of the media on the scene, TV viewers nationwide could see the massive manhunt go from “hopeless” to “we have him cornered in a boat”; being left in the dark was not something news networks would allow.
“Hey, Case”, you say, “How is that helping this country recover from a random and isolated act of terror?” This may come as somewhat of a shock, but it’s not the news media that’s helping this country fully get back on its feet, it’s a sports network: ESPN. Boston, home of the New England Patriots, Boston RedSox, Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, and D-1 collegiate teams at Boson College,is a city rich in sports history, specifically when it comes to the Celtics and RedSox (Ted Williams and “the Curse of the Bambino” might jog your memory for baseball, as well as Bill Russel’s achievement of winning 9 NBA titles).
After the bombing, professional sports in the city [of Boston] were cancelled, as sports instantly took a back seat to finding two terrorist suspects. When the suspect was detained, and the chaos had died down, the Boston RedSox held a huge ceremony at Fenway Park before the game. ESPN, obviously the biggest (and, in my opinion, the ONLY) sports network in the country, was there with cameras in-hand to tape the event that would end up showing just how patriotic the people of this country are. David Ortiz, a long time RedSox slugger said, in a wave of passion, proclaimed “This is our f****** city!!!!”, and everyone in attendance was overwhelmed with pride.
In that moment, the people in that stadium, the people in that city, and the people around the country completely forgot about the bombing which shook the country to its core. Something as simple as a baseball game turned a city in mourning into a city that was flush with pride.