Maybe it has something to do with all his years in Philadelphia and all those renditions by Kate Smith, but Bob Boone has a hard time handling “God Bless America.”

        Irving Berlin's best-loved ballad brings out the soggy sentimentalist in the Cincinnati Reds' manager. It seldom fails to leave Boone a blubbering pile of patriotism.

        “All I need to hear is "God' from "God Bless America' and I start crying,” Boone said Tuesday afternoon. “I did it again over at the fountain the other day.”

Barry Larkin displays an American flag to go with a smaller one added to the side of all caps. (Brandi Stafford photos) | ZOOM |

        Three hours before big-league baseball resumed on the riverfront, Boone's greatest challenge was not filling out his lineup card but steeling himself for the seventh-inning stretch. In observance of the tragic
events of Sept.11, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” has been benched temporarily at America's ballparks in favor of a Russian immigrant's love song to his adopted country.

        A smart concessionaire would cut back on peanuts and Cracker Jack and stock up on Kleenex.

        “I got emotional during the national anthem and then again in the seventh inning,” outfielder Brady Clark said after his ninth-inning single rallied the Reds to a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs. “Just to see all the fans hold up their flags, it really put things in perspective as far as who we are as a country.”

Catharsis at Cinergy

        The baseball season has never mattered so little as it does right now, but the games themselves have therapeutic and cathartic value. They give us a place to gather for our collective grieving and a healthy outlet for our overwrought emotions.

Fans sing 'God Bless America' during the seventh-inning stretch. | ZOOM |

        A week after terrorism toppled the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and murdered thousands of innocents, the return of baseball signals the resumption of ordinary life.

        “I think baseball is a great way to get this country back to normalcy,” Clark said. “It's like President Bush said: We've got to get back to the things we do every day ... For us, that's baseball.”

        Except for the novelty of the Reds winning at home, Tuesday's game was strikingly similar to several previously played this season. Ken Griffey Jr. made a difficult catch without any apparent difficulty, his glove outstretched, his back to home plate. Reds hitters twice took called third strikes with the tying run at third base and fewer than two outs. Most of the paid crowd had left the premises when Clark came to bat in the bottom of the ninth.

A balanced display

Reds players pause for a moment of silence before the game. | ZOOM |

        Yet in small, symbolic ways, change was clear. American flags had been stitched onto each player's jersey and embroidered on their caps. Reds groundskeeper Doug Gallant went so far as to order the grass mowed in a pattern that suggested the flag's alternating stripes. In lieu of his pregame radio chat with the manager, Reds announcer Marty Brennaman read a patriotic poem.

        The pregame ceremonies were memorable without being mawkish, the teams standing along the baselines as if it were Opening Day, their hats over their hearts, their hearts in their throats. The security was stringent without being suffocating. A crowd of 21,304 made it through the turnstiles without prompting a call to either the bomb squad or the American Civil Liberties Union. Boone made it through “God Bless America” sans tissue.

        “I think,” Boone said, “it's because I didn't have to sing it.”

        E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.

Reds 6, Cubs 5 SULLIVAN: Emotional rescue at ballpark Reds fans display patriotism New security plan clamps down on bag size Hamilton in; Reitsma, Reyes out Chest pains hospitalize Griffey Sr. Cubs miss Gordon in ninth Reds box, runs

Q&A with Mark Curnutte
NFL moves Week 2 schedule to end
Bengals' challenge: Running on Ravens
Xavier gains top runner thanks to Bengals
Prep football page
McNicholas joins Colerain at top of polls
Ohio football computer ratings
Highlands climbs up poll
Bonds Watch: No homers
UK, Miami reschedule games
Cincinnati high school results
N.Ky. high school results
Cincinnati girls tennis poll, leaders
Ohio girls tennis poll
Ohio girls volleyball poll

• Return to Reds front page...