by Scott Dean
Special to LSUsports.net
The announcement came down at 3 p.m. The games will be played. Not everywhere, but in Baton Rouge, the game will be played.
In a decision that NCAA President Cedric Dempsey left up to individual conferences, the Southeastern Conference decided that life must go on. And in the south, football is life. Therefore, with respect to the victims, their families and all those involved in this national tragedy, football must go on.
“After reviewing all of the issues involved, the Southeastern Conference announces that all Conference athletic events will be played as scheduled, including the football games on Saturday, Sept. 15,” SEC commissioner Roy Kramer said in a statement. “The Conference believes these events present a meaningful opportunity to bring our people together in a common expression of sympathy and mourning. An appropriate ceremony to express these sentiments will be held prior to each game.”
So, it is set. On Saturday night in Death Valley, LSU and Auburn will kick off shortly after 8 p.m. Twenty-two players will take the field for the opening kick. They will not be thinking about what happened on Tuesday in New York and Washington. They will be focused on football and the task at hand.
Over 90,000 people will pack Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, immediately making it the second-largest gathering of people in the nation. They will not be thinking about what happened on Tuesday. They will be focused on cheering their team to victory.
And so, the healing process will begin.
However, the concerns of the people will still loom large. In a time of terrorist attack, why bring a large group of people together? Who would want to fly at a time like this? Concerns such as these made the decision that much tougher for all those involved.
Moving on was not the obvious choice around the nation. All games in the Pac-10 and Big East have been cancelled. Three games have been postponed in the ACC. The Big 10 and Big 12, along with the SEC, felt the need to play.
But, who is to say when it is safe. Is it safer to play next Saturday than it will be this Saturday? Is flying next weekend safer than flying this weekend? That is what helped bring the SEC to its conclusion.
“Beyond our prayers and our financial support, we also want to demonstrate that life goes on,? said LSU chancellor Mark Emmert. ?Indeed as Americans, we are committed to not allowing our freedoms to be infringed by terrorists, that we are going to continue doing those thing that Americans do.?
LSU will not be deterred. It will take the field and it will do so in honor of those who have passed in this terrible tragedy. The Tiger community will not let those who shattered the world for so many, control it.
LSU has decided life must go on. The game must go on. And the people must overcome.