True heroes shine through

by Chris Kulenych

(U-WIRE) STORRS, Conn. - My dad called me early Sunday morning to tell me about a cartoon he saw on one of the local sports pages. It was a black and white sketch of a fireman, down on one knee in prayer, his soot-covered New York Fire Department helmet covering his exhausted frame.

Under the sketch was a cut-line, as short and simple as it was moving - M-V-P.

"How awesome is that?" my dad said.

I didn't know what to say. It has been almost a week since our country was shaken by the cancer of terrorism - almost a week since our lives were changed forever thanks to a faceless enemy that despises our country and the values that shape it.

More than a week removed from the events of Sept. 11, we as a nation have begun to try to pick up the pieces. We have come together as Americans and as human beings, a people banded together against a common evil. It is in that healing process that we begin to realize how great our country and its people are when called together. It is in that healing process that we realize what true heroes really are.

In sports, all too often we worship "heroes" simply because they can run faster, throw farther or hit harder than we can. We buy their posters, ask for their autographs and wear their jerseys as we play two-hand touch or home-run derby in our backyards. We memorize their stats, draft them in our fantasy leagues and argue with our friends as to whose "hero" is the best.

On Monday, our heroes were named Barry, Sammy and Big Mac. On

Monday, our heroes stole bases, made diving catches and swung for the fences.

On Tuesday, our definition of "heroes" was redefined in 18 unforgettable minutes.

Heroes this week risked their own lives to save their neighbor's. Heroes this week donated blood and contributed food or clothes. They stood on their doorsteps and lit candles in unity for a nation and a people under attack, and in defiance to those people or countries responsible for these unthinkable acts.

Heroes this week died doing their jobs.

Heroes this week were men like Todd Beamer, the 32-year-old businessman and Sunday school teacher, who led the 44 passengers aboard United Airways Flight 93 in an attempt to overthrow the terrorists that had taken over the aircraft, shortly before the plane crashed in a western Pennsylvania field.

Heroes this week were men like 68-year-old New York Police Department chaplain Mychal Judge who lost his life Sept. 11 reading last rites to a trapped firefighter. Heroes this week were thousands of volunteers, who came off the street and risked their own lives in hopes of finding a survivor. Heroes are still digging as you read this.

In a week that left us with so many questions, one thing became crystal clear.

Heroes don't play sports.

On Monday morning, America went back to work. Farmers, shopkeepers and businessmen return to their offices, determined to return to normalcy after a week that changed them forever.

In Pittsburgh Monday night, the Mets and Pirates played on a diamond only miles away from where Todd Beamer lost his personal fight with terrorism. That game, like many others was moved away from New York, away from a city that has just begun to heal.

There the smoke from what used to be the World Trade Center still smolders. There the rubble from the worst terrorist attack in history still remains. And there, hundreds of rescue workers continue to dig through tons and tons of soot and metal as they hope and pray to hear a voice or touch the hands of friends, co-workers and fellow Americans who are still alive a week after their workplace and their lives were shattered.

There the real heroes in life come to play. There the real MVP awards are won.