Before you read this, as a warning, there are pictures from that day in this article.
Boston is one of the most beloved and hated cities in America. That is what happens when you are one of the most successful sports cities ever, especially in the 21st century. One yearly sports tradition in Boston involves people from across the world flocking to The City on a Hill to run the Boston Marathon. In April 2013, however, Boston was put in the international spotlight for a different reason.
The Bombing
At 2:49 PM, two pressure cooker bombs went off 210 yards apart at the finish line. With roughly 5,700 runners left, people kept coming as late as 2:57, with the remaining runners being diverted to the Common and Kenmore Square. After the dust had settled, 3 were dead, including eight year old Martin Richard of Dorchester, and 246 were injured. This is when Boston’s finest jumped into action. Police, paramedics, and firefighters all did what they could to help those in need, and administer medical attention when they could. In addition to those who signed up for this kind of work, spectators and runners did what they could. Former Patriots lineman Joe Andruzzi helped take people to medical tents, and spectators did what they could to assist the wounded. The most amazing part, in my mind, is what the runners did. Per reports, some runners ran up to two additional miles to hospitals to donate blood, knowing they’d need it. As terrible as the bombing was, it was only the beginning.
The Response
On April 18th, three days after the Bombing, the FBI released photos of the suspects, later identified as the Tsarnaev brothers. After the photos were released, the brothers murdered an MIT police officer in his cruiser, and hijacked a car. Later that evening, the brothers were found in Watertown, and a firefight ensued. While trying to escape, Dzhokar Tsarnaev, ran over his older brother, Tamerlan, and killed him. In addition to Tamerlan, a police officer was severely injured from a crude grenade, and died the following April. After Dzhokar’s escape, Watertown was shut down, and a manhunt ensued. Dzhokar was discovered hiding in a boat in someone’s back yard, and after capture, was subsequently sentenced to death.
The 2013 Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox were coming off of an abysmal 2012 season. They went 69-93 and fired Bobby Valentine. Toward the end of the season, they traded away Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, and Carl Crawford. By getting out of these contracts, the Sox signed Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, and Mike Napoli. People did not expect much from this team, especially in Boston. To start the season, the Red Sox went 11-4, and appeared to be on track for a decent year. During this stretch, the Red Sox played a game on April 16th vs. the Cleveland Indians, and hung a “Boston Strong” Jersey (pictured below) in the dugout during that game. Even as the season went on, the city of Boston was still very shaken up, and the Red Sox provided a relief. They made the playoffs, and eventually went on to win the World Series in seven games against the St. Louis Cardinals. This gave Boston something to rally around. It was a return to normalcy, and provided some relief and happiness to the citizens of Boston.
The Aftermath
It was hard to write about this, even though I was not in Boston on the day of the Marathon, and neither was my family. With that being said, I knew people who were at different stages of the race, and my family has gone to the race other years. All of Massachusetts was impacted by this. While the event was horrible, it brought out the best of Boston. The unity and resiliency shown by Bostonians is remarkable, but people outside of Boston as well. According to the Boston Athletic Association, 26,839 people participated in the 2013 Boston Marathon. After an event as horrible as this, it would make sense to see a drop in participants. It would make sense, but that’s not what happened. In 2014, 35,671 people ran in the Boston Marathon. This was incredible to see, and showed the kind of people that live in Boston, the people of Massachusetts, and anywhere else runners came from.
As David Ortiz put it, “this is our fucking city,” and the people of Boston proved that in those dark days during April 2013.
