Derek had never even seen or even knew this person existed. All he knew after this statement was that he was going to fight him. The insanely threatening wording this opposing player uses on Boogaard just shows how the game of hockey is at this time, and shows the pure anger and intensity that players have, that drive them to perform in the actual game.

this word "must" is an extremely powerful word, by bringing together 2 meanings in one statement. As it is said in the next sentence, "opportunity and obligation had collided", and the way that the word must is expressed perfectly illustrates that exactly. By saying that he didn't know who he would fight, just that he has to do it, shows how he is obligated to do it in the first place. That also shows that regardless, he knows he is going to fight someone, which means he noticed that the opportunity is there.

Here, it directly contradicts what I just stated. If the toll didn't phase Boogaard then what did? What could've caused Boogaard, a very famous hockey player with a huge base of fans, to turn to drugs.

Here, I really being to think what caused him to die at such an early age. It stated throughout the past of the article that Boogaard was under a lot of stress, probably because of the toll of fighting was putting on his body. Maybe the stress caused him to turn to drugs.

I think at this point, the entire attitude of the article takes a huge turn as it goes from an exciting event in history to something many people would question the morality of. It's interesting how 3 words can change the article so much.

Because of the inherent association between hockey and fighting, it really helped Boogaard rise as a star of hockey, not because of his hockey skills but because of how well he fought. This kind of fame has to be questioned, however, because it had nothing to do with the sport of hockey at all.

Here, I noticed how when Boogaard was on the ice that he "must" fight. This directly relates to that showing how it was an obligation to fight someone. This really shows how when he says opportunity and obligation collide in hockey makes more sense.

This relates to earlier in the article where he said he played as a "vengeance against a lifetime of perceived doubters." Even parents used to bully him because of the way he looked at a kid.

If he was in the prime of his career, and he apparently loved what he was doing, then why would he have such a horrible addition?

They say accidental, but in reality they have no way of knowing. Maybe the stress of constantly being under the spotlight, and the stress of playing the game itself, got to him.

The author uses a simile here to show how quick the fear can come an go.

The author is making it sound like a full-on war is about to ensue.

At this point, I'm still wondering why Boogaard is doing this to himself. It's mentioned before that he hadn't slept, so he's obviously under some stress. At the beginning of this article it's said he knew he must fight, but the question why has yet to be answered.

The way the player said this so openly really surprised me. I know some people take sports seriously, but serious to the point of death threats?? Is that common??

This is a direct example to the double-meaning rhetoric that we've been talking about in class. The author used the word "collided," one way in a literal sense, and another in figurative sense.

The perseverance that he had was so cool to read about and understand. Boogaards dream was to play in the NHL and he finally did it.

this can connect to "the real New York Giants" article because it shows that sports players alway stick up for their teammates.

This can connect to work and play because Len is using things that involve his work to make fun and play. Even though he struggled in school his dad realized what could push him through life, weather or not that meant work or play

This shows the troubled life of Derek. He was often caught up in issues from his fathers work which may have been the reason he didn't follow directions and he was a trouble maker.

why was he using drugs in the first place? what led him to do this? why did he not seek help?

It appears that Boogaard was unaware of his ability to fight which led him to be scared of it. Even though Boogaard was a small person at the time he was able to break a persons nose and he didn't even mean to do it.

This really makes me think about what we are teaching kids and teens. This kind of behavior from the coaches and scouts is horrible because they are just encouraging this kind of awful behavior from a teenager. This encouragement to fight another player is not only telling hockey players that it is acceptable to fight and hurt another person to get what you want but also is influencing any other kids that were watching hockey that this is okay and socially acceptable. And to make it worse Boogaard was getting paid a lot of money to fight other players since he spent most of his time in the penalty box.

This sentence brings up an interesting question of what people are willing to do to themselves just to get everything that they want. Boogaard may even have known about what he was doing to his body and all the pain it was causing him but he chose to continue down this dark path just to get his "perfect" life.

I like the way the author ties in language that is normally used in hockey but uses it in a different context. The word collided is language that is familiar to hockey players and fans but they usually would connect this word to someone talking about two players running into each other. However,in this sentence the author uses this word as a way to explain to his audience how two moral values are clashing.

This was the effects behind the barbaric fighting that entertained millions. Was it worth it?

His rise in hockey wasn't because of his hockey skill, but because of his fighting skills. We can tell he was pretty good at it too and became one of the most fearsome fighters in all of hockey. However, if he likes fighting so much, why doesn't he just box?

Boogard was pushed to fight by coaches to fight and it is interesting to see how he felt after doing so. He says that he went into it with fear. So why do it?

A common part of hockey is for opponents to fight it out on the ice. It makes you think about the nature of this "sport". I put quotations around sport because sports are supposed to be fun and positive. Is fighting like this fun and positive?

This really threatening comment from a random guy on the other team shows the intense nature of sports that occurs sometimes.

Sports fans understand that these types of programs that are handed out before sports events usually have super boosted stats for each player. A basketball player who is hardly 6'0" and 160, may be listed as 6'3" and 180.

I think this sets the tone for the article. By saying that he must do something it gives you the idea that Derek Boogard has some sort of obligation to fight and that it is not his choice.

He put up with the pain because he was living his dream, just in a weird and damaging way.

This is really young for a hockey player to die. What happened? Why was he taking so many meds?

Was he just not good enough, or did obligations get in the way?

It's interesting how a single job can have the ability to have characteristics that ultimately contradict each other.

Shouldn't the sport be pushing you to worry more about playing than fighting people? Then again, people who play sports are meant to be more of entertainers than actual athletes half the time. Big good at the sport is only half the battle. The other half is making it so that people actually remember you.

They made him punch someone at 16 just to put on a good show? And they congratulated him for it? Most young people are taught to fight with intelligence, not their fists, for it goes farther and doesn't break a person's nose.

The fights were staged, just for show. They get the fans to pick sides, pick favorites. It also makes the game itself more entertaining.

What did he do? This a threat; something must have happened for some random guy to say this to him.

This happens a lot in life in general. Often people are held back from what they want by what they feel obligated to do. They often get in the way of each other.

why did he have to fight anyone? What was it meant to achieve?

This sentence really means a lot in a physical sense and also a mental kind of sense. The team itself is trying to fill the holes of whom of which they not not have proficient enough players to play at, and also the players themselves have their own holes trying to be patched up by themselves, most of those holes being caused emotionally.

Again this is a little of a stretch, but the first game is the actual game of football where they cant play because they don't have any one or any one good to fill the positions. Where as you could say that they are also playing the game of life and how are you suppose to move through life with all the sorrow.

Nicole and I: We were talking about the double meaning of words in class that the author used, and this is kind of a stretch, however when they first found Johnston it was in the way of them getting him on the team and they have been looking for someone to fill the position and they finally have. Where is in the other found, it was a body and it had been missing and this find didn't fill up a need for a person, it was a lose of someone.

Football is the most american sport out there besides baseball. Not only are they trying to connect to there fallen friends by playing a sport that they once did together and loved. But they are also trying to show there love of america and try to show the good that it can bring by just being able to go out and bond over a sport after a horrific time of lose.

Throughout this article you see the close bond the fire department has. They are one big family that spend the work day together and even play on a football team together. They call each other brothers, and for a little boy who is now understanding the idea of what death really is to loose so many close friends who are considered "uncles"! I couldn't imagine.

They would always pull each other out of the piles in football, but know this is him pulling him out of the pile of ruins and this time Tommy isn't walking off with him.

On the football team they are always together and watching each others backs, helping each other out. However, if you look down Tommy doesn't make it out, and so not on the field, wither it is the football field, or work, they will no longer be together.

These men went into a collapsing building to help rescue people and gave up their life to do so. These are genuine men and you don't get many of those in our wold, and we just lost 21. The author is trying to intertwine them missing a player n the field, but in reality you are missing a amazing civilian who will no longer be on the world with us with all their characteristics.

Traditions are known to be passed down though people and generations, and even though they were so young, while being apart of tradition, one day some of the originals wont be with you anymore, however it is a tradition and you have to continue it to show your respect you have towards what the game means to you

These fire fighters are so keen on playing that even thought they are physically sick, and mentally drained from digging up people for weeks, they will still go ang be apart of a sport to be with "family"

In saying this as a statement with no question about it, it is saying that they will be doing this for their fallen friends. This is something they would always do, and it brought smiles to their faces, and the fallen wouldn't want them to stop enjoying it because of them.

He is know showing the readers that throughout the article he will be connecting the football team to 9/11. It is again almost a front because most people like football, so he is trying to keep the readers mood up by bringing in the distraction and parallelism of football, since it is a team sport just like being a fire fighter puts you in a teas.

The author shows a positive almost humorous tone in the conclusion of the paragraph. Even though we don't know what happened to the 21 people who were once apart of the team, it is almost as he is trying to put up a happy face because of how sad it is going to be.

The twin towers collapsed on September 11, 2001, so this article was written about 6 months after.

While discussing the possible theme for this text with my partner in class today, we put together the reoccurring topics of friendship and tragedy. When people go through traumatic events together, it strengthens their bond, becoming even closer than they were before.

Throughout this text, the author asks many rhetorical questions, including the one in this example. Others include, "Who's going to kick now that Billy Johnston is gone?" and, "How will they even get a play off?" along with many others. I believe he does this in order to create a dramatic effect. Asking a rhetorical question gets the audience thinking, and maybe even creates suspense, as the questions often time don't get answered. This tactic also shows how interested the author is in the topic itself. He wouldn't ask all of these questions if he didn't care.

Rachel, Abby, and I made to realization that the author uses many different words that have double meanings. He uses football terms that can easily be used to make his readers think about more than just the game. For example, the word "pile," he doesn't just mean a bunch of guys who tackled each other and need help untangling themselves. He is also referring to the pile of rubble that the victims had to be pulled out of after 9/11. There are plenty more words like this, this is only one.

'Bravest' has a double meaning. It's also used in the second paragraph "John was among the Bravest who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers," It's so compelling how the author relates work (the firefighters and policemen) and play ( football, and how bravery ties into that as well) to create a bridge between the two ideas to reiterate the underlying reasoning for why the author wrote this piece.

I find it interesting that despite with what all that happen, these guys are still so serious on playing their sport. I don’t think I have that much passion or commitment to play while mourning the death of someone close to me. The rest of the team continue to play because, in a way, they're honoring the deceased men on their team. To them, they are living through their stolen lives by playing what they (probably) loved.

The way the author puts in the rhetorical questions evoke a sense of emotional appeal when you put yourself in their shoes. It gives you a small view of how these men felt when digging up their teammates’ bodies. I noticed how the word replace has the same action but different circumstance every time it is used. Usually, when you think of replacing something, it's because the 'thing' you have is bad or useless, so you bring in another thing to resolve the defectiveness. In this case, replacing someone is harder because it's not that they're bad at doing something, it's because they're gone. You can't duplicate their unique traits.

I like this question. It’s hard to replace someone and their title because it’s as if they own it. You can replace the players, but you can’t replace the unique qualities of the former men. There's a special bond between the players and sportsmanship. When someone is gone, the connection within the team is severed. It's almost impossible to create it again.

omg the strength, the perseverance, his DETERMINATION of te winning goal is amazing through this unbearable time shows that not only is he now even more focused in his game but he's going to be an even better player through the trauma because now he believes to never give up regardless of the storm. periodt

Now THIS is that chain between work and play, the relationships we build with our co workers and team mates really make or break the whole experience. Here, we have wounded and vulnerable men who made their job a home and now can't find that line between them as both have been ruined.

This line is an example of the words that have two entirely different connotations, in sports a rebuilding year can be where they replace players to improve their quality of their team, but in this situation these people have permanently disappeared and can't be "replaced" like a player in a game.

The way he ends this just stood out to me because how he included someone that we may not have thought of and showed how it much it affected him. How big of a family this team truly is, brothers, uncles, and fathers sharing this moment together.

Mike Heffernan who said in this passage, has showed me that the team is not only a team, but a family. They are determined to show to everyone that they don't give up. This was right after 9/11 and having the New York Giants coming forward and losing some of their team, just proves my point that they are motivated to prove to everyone. This was a very deep moment for the country and having the football coming together at that moment brought a sense of safety to everyone.

Reilly talks a lot about filling this hole and he expresses that throughout the article but with several different meanings. Whether it be missing players from the football team, an emotional gap of a lost loved one, or the hole that remains in the ground in place of the World Trait Center.

Throughout the article they talk about replacing people in your life and on the football team. The truth is it's fairly easy to get a person to take on the responsibilities of another player but it is impossible to replace a person in your life; all of the experiences shared with them are impossible to replace and Reilly expresses this throughout the article by repeating the word replace.

The little things about each of these men made them more memorable and a greater asset to the team. This passage shows how each player's unique personality brought something special to the game that can't be replaced and no one else can bring. However, the team has to still keep going on.

Lauren and Claire

In this quote we noticed the logical fallacy of appealing to emotion was used. They are overloading the audience with emotion so they will sympathize with the article. The emotion is shown in the players to show their love and affection of the game.

Mady and Jack; the author is using parallel structure between work and play in this paragraph. Not only is he using the word rescue talking about 9/11 but, he is also using rescued to relate to the game and how his teammates saved the game. It's interesting how he related two different topics (work and play) by using the same word. This shows that there could be some middle ground between the two topics.

This reminded me of another value of sports: perseverance, or endurance. Despite all of the players that were lost, the team has to move on and keep playing. Also, it connects to the value of having fun because some players are missed because they added to the game by making it fun and joyful.

This portion of the text reminded me of the one of the values of sports that we talked about in class: teamwork. I found this passage very moving. These team members have made bonds that supposedly go on beyond football. All of the people on the team have bonded together through their losses, making them even stronger.

I find this so inspiring that regardless of what's happening in the outside world, that your not going to let that effect the sport you love.

Just wanted to point out how the author connects 2 different settings by using similar/same wording. maybe by correlating these, the author is trying to point out an underlying connection in all cases, just like this.

keyword in this beginning statement/opening introduction is the word "rebuilding". That exactly what all of this was about, especially after the horrible attack on 9/11. This word brings in the idea that the goal of the story and playing is to grow in all aspects, from the low point they had just hit in their lives.

The beginning of this chunk that I have selected just shows the pure emotion involved in this situation, specifically the bond that only grew stronger over time. Shows that the support they have for each other is parallel to that of a team.

This is a really important sentence to sum up the article with. There is so much hope being given to the reader throughout this piece that it overshadows the struggles that come with everything. Some peoples struggles are simply worse than others and its good to know that. They will never be able to replace the ones they've lost but they can keep going and create new memories with the new firefighters.

This portion conveys a lot of the mental aspects of sports. Everyone needs a balance in their mental, physical and social health throughout their lives. once one of them fails, then the rest collapse with it. However, sports gave these people the opportunity for socializing, strengthening their bodies physically and mentally putting their minds into the sport and people they love. Playing in this sport gave them relationships that kept them healthy. They can carry out with their newly found teamwork throughout the rest of their lives.

The death of loved ones can be a very rough confusing and difficult time especially for young kids. Most kids experience loss in the form of a grandparent or something similar. Losing just one person is very hard for them so I can't imagine what it would be like losing so many people at such a young age.

Knowing your job is to put the safety of others first I'm sure can get quite lonely. However, knowing you have someone like your fellow firefighters to support you and be with you understanding how you feel is comforting. Not fighting your battles alone allows for a closer relationship to be made.

This is a very difficult question to think about. Of course it's difficult loses people who have created a safe and comfortable environment for everyone around them. It take a lot of courage to move on from what once was so amazing, yet you don't need to forget it. Moving on is a big part of life and everyone has to be put through it at one point or another. Other people will come along and might even make as big of an impact as anyone else.

Rick Reilly uses lots of names throughout the article and it really just helps prove the point that so many of these people who just seem like a number in so many articles were all real people with their own families, their own personalities, and their own lives which will all unique and special.

The teammates positions can be covered by any new player. However, you can't replace the men who were originally there. They were family and close friends, no new person could fill that spot in your life.

These men are dedicated to finding those who are lost. He talks about the guy named Danny looking for his brother and being fortunate enough to find him. Not only are they brothers, they are teammates. You don't give up on family or teammates.

Rick Reilly's opening paragraph seems innocent enough, but in the second paragraph he really packs an emotional punch in connecting the story of this football team and its connection to 9/11.

This quote highlights the important of being resilient to certain factors that may set a team further back and give them a disadvantage compared to other teams. But it also shows that being able to bounce back and recover especially when you lost so many important people is key.

In the beginning of this article, it starts off showing how good of a team they have. Its a new year to rebuild a team and make it better. This quote shows the importance of a team and commitment to what the team has to give in order to set the standards and keep up the hard work that has already been done.

I think that this quote shows sympathy to all of the great players that when you lose a member, its hard to replace them. It shows the devastation that people go through when they lose people, but staying together as a team and working through it is the only thing that helps.

This last sentence continues to show the bond that these men had and it was a good way to end the article by showing that these men suffered through rough times but they were able to end on a good note.

I really think this quote is important because it truly shows how much devastation can affect not just a team but as individuals. It shows how hard it is to go on when so many people around you are no longer with you, but while it also highlights the devastation portion of it I feel it also ties into unity. The fact that these teammates were so close they were able to overcome anything and stick together in the long run.

This paragraph shows how much perseverance these men had because they continued with the league even after they had lost some of their comrades. But it also shows how much respect they had for them because they continued to play.

You will go through many difficult times in your life and you have to learn how to control yourself during those moments. Some may be easier to control than others but if you put your mind to it, you can overcome anything.

This ties back to the idea of work and sports being the same thing since the team supported each other with everything. I also think this is a great way to end the article since it ties unity into it. It shows that a sport can bond a team so much so that even after losing people together, their love for the sport ultimately is what kept them close.

The people who participate in this league must truly believe in it because they are continuing to play even though someone has passed away that they had once played with in the past.

As the article keeps switching between playing football and horrible past memories, I believe that the team was close and that they relied on each other. Although these are painful memories, they push through to commemorate their fallen friends/family.

The author brings emotional questions into play. He plays with his words to tug at a deeper meaning

So are they playing to commemorate their fallen loved ones/friends? Is it their tradition to band together and play football?

Rick Reilly builds Mike's character by mentioning his brother, John's, background information about how he died from the collapse of the world trade center. Despite the mentioned incident, the author keeps an uplifting mood by saying "we're playing." In a way, it kind of gives hope.

I do believe that the author starts off with a positive attitude. It definitely piques my interest in continuing to read the article.

I find it very interesting on the way the author writes this part of the paragraph. Reading it at first confused me as I didn't understand what the author meant when he said, "The extra points were a luxury" and, "The bravest had to go for two every touchdown." However, I realized that the only way of understanding this part of the section was knowing how to play football. After reading it over again, I finally understood that the extra points meant the one additional value that was added upon the score when the kicker successfully passed the field goal. "The bravest had to go for two" meant that they had to run up a two-point conversion every time. I think that the author wrote this way to focus the attention towards Johnston rather than re-explaining what he meant in terms of the sport.

The sentence "All the lineup holes were patched" parallels the last sentence "Some holes are easier to patch than others." The former discusses the same idea of replacing the actual lineup, while the latter once again reiterates the fact that personalities and friendships cannot be replaced.<br> Also, this section really emphasizes how fast and determined the community was willing to recover. Having double the usual meeting attendees as well as people who had originally declined a spot on their team want to come to play shows their willingness to contribute to the healing of the team.

This sentence was very surprising but also very moving. Even though the events of 9/11 were so horrific and so many lives were lost, including their family members (blood related or not), in the end it made the bonds at the NYFD stronger.

This sentence was very emotional because it relates to the previous paragraph when it talks about "Danny pulling Tommy out of the pile," but in football. The next time that same phrase is used, is in completely different context. It's describing Danny finding and pulling Tommy's dead body out of the remains of the World Trade Center. This is creating a bond between not only the brothers, but the relationship of the NYFD football team and the events of 9/11

This quote really touched me because it shows the scale of devastation. It's hard to comprehend the mass of the lives lost during 9/11. But this description of not having enough numbers to dress the team if they retired all the fallen's numbers, is eye opening to an audience that hasn't had a first hand experience with such a huge tragedy.

Replacing the players is relatively an easy task compared to the latter. Later on in the article, the author writes, "Even if you can replace the players who were lost, how do you replace all the other guys who made the team so damn much fun?" While the team game-wise could start to recover, it was just as necessary for the team bonds to recover as well. Each person had their own unique personality that all brought something different to the table, both when it came to friendships as well as during games. Having a team that is well bonded helps with teamwork which helps with winning. Starting over with new relationships because tragedy struck is incredibly hard, but these men were clearly determined to do so. Also, it was most likely tough for these men to grieve while still giving focus to the game.

This is a parallel to the first sentence, which was "talk about a rebuilding year." The author reinforces the main idea of rebuilding after tragedy, which was what America as a whole was trying to do at the time. In this article, Reilly emphasizes how the firefighters' football team pulls through to rebuild their team, even as they are mourning those they have lost. They can never replace their fallen teammates, but they are rebuilding as best as they can in the memory of those teammates.

The team acted as a family regardless of where they were at. This ties back to the idea of work and sports of being the same as the team equally supported each other through every event. I think that this interaction is crucial because it is what allows the team to have perseverance through this difficult time.

Again, Reilly repeats that the true loss to the team is not the positions the players could fill but the fun and vibrant men that are missing now.

I can connect this to my real life. Just as the author writes above, "how do you replace the men?" Sibling bonds are extremely strong, and me and my sister also have a four year distance, which means we would just miss each other in high school and college. Danny Foley mentions being the younger sibling; so for him to get an actual opportunity to do something with his brother, especially be on a team where camaraderie is at its strongest. I can't imagine what it must have been like to have waited that long to have an opportunity to play together all for a tragedy to take Tommy Foley away.

Reilly describes Billy Johnston's role as a player and also as a man. This develops our knowledge of him as person, which increases the emotional impact on the audience more than if the author just listed his name or position. The loss isn't just in the extra points he could score; it was everything about him, like the funny nickname the team came up with.<br> These two paragraphs also include a parallel sentence structure, where the word "found" takes on two different meanings. The first time they found Johnston, the team discovered a talented kicker. The last time they found Johnston, the team carried out another heartbreaking loss.

Being on a team requires lots of hard work and endurance. There will be pain along the way, but nothing comes easy. It all pays off in the end though. You fight through the pain and become even stronger because of it, which can truly be an edifying experience.

This sentence parallels a sentence in the previous paragraph, where Danny and Tommy pulled each other "out of the pile." But even though the author uses the same phrase "out of the pile," it takes on a completely different meaning in this paragraph. Instead of a "pile" in football, this "pile" refers to the rubble left by the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center. The rhetorical parallel in different contexts adds another layer of emotion, since a once brotherly, joyful act is painfully cut short.

What is clear from reading this is how dedicated the New York Fire Department is to both their work (as firefighters) and play (as football players). Just as we learned from the Mark Twain quote that work and play have the same values but different applications, this is exactly what is happening here. Their work isn't play as in entertainment, but their work is where they are determined to go above and beyond, have a goal to rescue people/bodies, and accomplish it. Their play is described similar to a job: a task the team is required to complete. "The guys are playing" offers no area for people to question the team and whether they will actually follow through.

It is obvious that the author is creating a similarity through work and sports as he explains Paddy Lyon's contribution on the football team and at work. The author begins by explaining how Lyons carried his team towards a 28-21 win then transitions to talk about how this idea of leadership is shown at work too when he rescued a significant amount during 9/11.

This emotional statement left a lasting impression. It shows that this team has such a strong bond and a passion to play. They're willing to dedicate these games for the people who lost their lives at the World Trade Center.

Reilly's diction is especially purposeful here- he highlights the difference between replacing a "player" and replacing a "man". The word "men" refers to the people who made up the team with their personalities, which goes far deeper than just a "player" filling a position.

When reading this, I immediately thought this statement was very reflective of the United States as a whole during the heartbreaking aftermath of 9/11. New York, as well as the country as a whole, could be considered a team, who lost over 2,000 people. Despite the firemen's loss of 21 people, they wanted to rebound, and show their strength and ability to fight back despite the circumstances by saying "Hell, yes [we're] playing." Just as the fire department team fought their circumstances, the United States did the same by honoring victims and fighting its loss by demonstrating its patriotism.

I think it's fascinating that despite most of the team having the WTC cough, they still have the courage to get together as a team and play out on the field. Tradition is defined as the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. I think tradition is a big part of American culture, especially in team sports. For example, it's a tradition for the Detroit Lions to play every Thanksgiving day.

It's really interesting that sometimes in life the most tragic of events can bring together the strongest and happiest groups of people.That's exactly what has happened with this group.

Wow. This is a very moving use of the phrase pulling somebody out of the pile. I think our author is trying to humanize and put a strong relationship behind this tragedy.

The idea of doing something because it is a tradition is interesting. Is there a line when a tradition maybe needs to stop in the wake of a tragic event? Or is it better to go on with tradition despite tragedy?

Right off the bat, I think our author, Reilly, wants to show his readers just how tough this team of firefighters really is. Despite losing numerous members of there team during the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, they still are undoubtably playing.

I love this part since it creates strong emotion. It shows that their connections have grown so strong that even side people feel apart of this family and have bonds that are unbreakable.

Everyone on the team was important to this team just like how every one of them was important at work. They all impacted every other member of their team and then everybody lost someone special. Even if they didn't all lose their real family members they lost people that have basically became their family and who they worked and played with everyday.

These guys were more than just a team and they are more than coworkers. The work and sports brought them together to become a family. Some were family already when tragedy struck it wasn't losing the players on the team they were worried about it was their family they lost that worried them.

Again, the topic of unity comes back. Funerals are sad enough, let alone when it is someone you know and were close to but you can't let that pain stop your life. You need to learn to move on and be around people that support you and surround yourself with positivity and be a team.

This part stood out to me because it really shows how much of a family they are. They lost some of their family and their team but they still have each others backs. No matter what they stuck together because they weren't just coworkers or teammates, they were family.

This passage is amazing to me because despite the tragedy, Tom Narducci knows what everyone has gone through but that tragedy is why they can't just replace people and they need to play. They need to be together and unit with strength because they need each other now more than anything, even if they are hurting

I think this paragraph is really touching. Even though something horrible had just happened to this team they knew they could do something about it. The only thing they could do is to play in the football game and honor their friends and family that were not able to be there. Although, it took a great tragedy for some people to join the team I like to look at it as they all knew what to do in the wake of this horrible event and came and did what they needed to when it counted.

When reading this section I was instantly reminded of my own experiences on a team. When you are on a team, there is a good chance that your fellow teammates are your closest friends. These are the people who you are pretty much always with, multiple hours a day, almost everyday of the week. There's no doubt that with all of that time, you are bound to become a family.

This statement really stood out to me because when I read this I imagined there was no doubt in Mike Heffernan's voice or mind. Even though their team had been through probably the worst thing possible he knew that playing in this game was something they had to do. This was a way that they could keep their fallen friends and family alive and honor them. I think this was such a great response to feel so strongly about something that you are positive about your response.

This small section was very interesting to me. It really shows the reality in the fact that traumatic events really bring people together. There is a saying that says,"You don't realize how much you love something until it's gone," and this is a prime example. The people had lost their beloved players, and in order to honor them, they showed up to the first team meeting in order to make sure that their legacy will go on.

This is a great way to end out the article. The reason being is that because it can relate back to something so touching previously stated earlier in the article.

This part really stood out to me when I read it. Not, only is it a change in tone, but this just stood out to me, knowing how tough they seem, that they're also very close and have these special bonds. On or off the field, their connections are so strong and because of the facet they were teammates, they now have this unbreakable bond.

For at least these two brothers, and most likely many other people, this football team was not just a fun way to spend a season but it was a way to stay connected with friends and family. For these brothers this team meant that they could finally do something that they have always love and finally do it together.

Again, here the teammates are in full favor of the game, even after a tragedy. This, showing commitment and determination throughout all the players.

This is a strong statement that grasped my attention because of the way that these everlasting friendships between them are portrayed. They are showed in a way such that it makes you think about that friendship on the field and on the job because as it states there were men who had rejected multiple times, men who had retired, and they came back which shows the idea of this everlasting friendship and allegiance to each other, showing that they will always support each other and wouldn't leave anyone going solo.

This shows that even though it's a sad time on their team and the NYCFD, they are still committed to their jobs and Danny specifically preserved to find his brother and bring him home because these are all things that are/were very important to him which makes this situation emotional in a way but also shows his character and strength to keep going and not give up.

Right here, even after a devastating time, this part shows the determination of the speaker. He seems so confident and very to committed the idea of playing their game.

This is sh showing that these men are dedicated to what they do and what they love, they may be working hard, and long days, but at the end of the day they are going to continue to play not only for themselves but probably for their comrades because that's what they would have wanted them to do.

This is showing motivation and commitment to their team and making it the best it can possibly be, even if it is only ten people.

This is a very powerful statement. In class we talked about the value of sports and I wrote down "friendship." this statement really shows the bond between teammates who turn into friends.

This is a very powerful statement that demonstrates the strong bonds between teammates (at work and on the field). No one should ever underestimate the strength of these connections and eternal friendships which are based on trust and loyalty.

Losing someone can leave a gash that may be difficult to fix for a while. I love how the firefighters continued their football despite the loss of many beloved teammates whose personalities couldn't be replaced. However, that doesn't mean that new teammates can't fill those spots. Maybe this interaction and teamwork is what could fill those holes.

After the conversation in class today about values in work and in sports being connected, I could definitely see that connection clearly here. As the article kept bouncing back and forth between the tragic events of 9/11 and the firefighters' football team, I could tell that some values including persistence, relying on teammates, and determination were equally important on both sides.

I can certainly relate to this feeling of replacing people who left. In band, feel an emotional connection with all the band members even I didn't know them that well. Either way, always enjoyed a band member's company because of their skill or personality. Having to deal with seniors leaving the band always left a hole in my heart believing that they are irreplaceable.

It's very interesting how this person is hesitating on continuing football because of all the people who are dead. It shows that he heavily values the people who served on the team. When I hear instances like these, I think the next motivator would be carrying on the fallen's legacy. Since the dead have left such a great impact on his life, he would probably continue on with them in his heart.

This is very interesting because the waterboy job isn't the most favorable job on the team. But from Ryan's reaction, it seems that he was the waterboy because of his love for his comrades. They felt like family to him. In class, we discussed that being around people that you like can be a motivator for playing sports.

At first, I didn't know what was meant by "digging." Now, I know it's a football language for "when a player tries their hardest to defend against the opposing team or avoid defeat." This helped me understand that the football team was very persistent. They were so persistent that they developed WTC cough! They obviously were playing football for enjoyment to be this motivated.

Constantly keep talking about replacing players and teammates. This shows how sad and bitter it is since certain people have died and they've lost many people, but they still keep going and accept the people who replace the others.

I think that this shows some doubted the idea of there being a team since there weren't enough people. However, his response shows that it didn't really affect him and they had a strong positive mindset that no matter what, they're doing it and continuing on what they've always been doing. This shows the importance to them.

This shows their strong and tight knit connection with eachother. He says that they were always together and with that being said, they enjoyed it all. I think this shows that on a team, you grow close relationships with people and being around them is always fun.

This continues showing their persistence in continuing on tradition. Despite the fact they have a rough cough and it can hurt them/make it difficult for them to play, he says at the end that "It's tradition" so they are going to do it no matter what.