It was the silence around Redskin Park. The roar of planes normally headed for Dulles International Airport replaced by the calm of the countryside.
The U.S. flags waved by Green Bay fans when the Washington Redskins resumed play on a Monday night showing Washingtonians and New Yorkers that they were not alone.
The ash falling like light snow more than a month later when the Redskins visited Giants Stadium like some gentle reminder of a Robert Frost poem of miles to go before finding hearth and home. A wave of smoke replaced the Twin Towers on the horizon.
Five years have passed since Sept. 11, 2001 when football became just a game and terrorism changed our nation forever. The Redskins open the season against the Minnesota Vikings tonight before a national audience. But the fans at FedEx will still be searched individually at the gates. Security is now so commonplace it has become the elephant in the room that goes unnoticed.
Offensive tackles Jon Jansen and Chris Samuels plus deep snapper Ethan Albright are the only Redskins remaining from the day. Their memories are largely the same as everyday Washingtonians.
They wondered what had happened to their country. And after the shock wore off, they wondered what to do next.
The Redskins are local leaders in this community of national policymakers. They knew the team needed to reach out to the community to say things would be OK despite having no more input into matters than anyone else. Players toured the Pentagon and Walter Reed Hospital to visit victims, though this would not be the typical feel good media opp.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Samuels said. “There was a 14-year-old kid looking at his dad for the first time after 9/11 and he went in and started crying. His mom said, ‘I told you to be strong.’ And he sucked the tears up. But his dad was burned from head to toe.”
Jansen winced over the memories. It’s still raw five years later. He knew football would become the escape to healing. That’s why Jansen and others would soon play again.
“I try to forget that season as much as possible,” Jansen said. “What we tried to do as a team and as a league was just give people an opportunity three or four hours every Sunday to forget about what’s going on and have a good time. I hope we were able to do that.”
The absence of planes overhead was still the players’ biggest memory. It’s usually a steady drone over the practice fields, the old Concordes of British Airways often drawing stares from the huddle.
“Practice was so quiet,” Albright said. “Usually, every 30 seconds to a minute there’s a plane going over.”
Five years later, the planes are nonstop once more. The Pentagon has been repaired. Osama bin Laden remains at large as America continues its war against terrorism.
The NFL plans to remember that fateful day before the Redskins kickoff another season. What the Madison Ave. executives don’t realize is 9/11 remains constant in the daily thoughts of Washingtonians. And it always will.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
