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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Sports helped process of healing in Hawai'i

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

In the days following the Sept. 11 attacks, Hawai'i Pacific University baseball player Jesse Whittemore said he needed a diversion from the constant images that flickered across his television and burned through his mind.

So Whittemore, of Kapahulu, did what many Hawai'i people chose to do after mourning the tragedy. He sought solace in sports.

"To me, I think sports became more important after Sept. 11," said Whittemore, who remembers feeling the powerful connection to the victims and heroes of Sept. 11 during a televised moment of silence in the World Series. "Sports brings people together."

The role of sports since the attacks has been mixed for people in Hawai'i. Some say sports, with its national anthems and patriotic themes, have become more important in times of turmoil. Others say sports are just games, and have no additional meaning to them following Sept. 11.

"You can lose yourself in sports," said Whittemore, who was one of several dozen people at Players Sports & Entertainment Club watching the Brigham Young University football team beat Hawai'i, 35-32, on Friday. "You can put yourself in a fantasy world. You can relax. You don't have to worry about the pressures of life."

University of Hawai'i sports counselors, Dr. Michael D'Andrea and Dr. Judith Daniels, said sports provides a sense of community, a productive outlet, and a welcomed distraction for many people.

D'Andrea said sports became one way for people to relieve anxiety and stress following the terrorist attacks and anthrax scares.

"If you don't have a way in releasing that in productive ways, people will manifest forms of mental health problems," D'Andrea said. "Maybe depression because they feel helpless, maybe agitation that turns into violent acts because they don't have a way of channeling their fears and anxieties."

D'Andrea said sports acts like a "steam kettle" where people are able to vicariously release some of their aggression and pent-up frustrations.

In addition, sports provides people a chance to display their patriotism. Daniels said the national anthem, which is traditionally played at major sporting events, has taken on new meaning for some people.

"It gives people a moment to reflect on their values, their beliefs and their patriotism," Daniels said. "We've always had patriotic people. But maybe people pause a little differently and think a little bit more during the national anthem. That's a function of sports, too."

University of Hawai'i athletic director Herman Frazier, who commands the school's 19-sport, $16 million athletic program, said sports has the ability to mend lives broken by tragedy.

"If you just look at the NFL kicking off their season on a Thursday, and closing down Times Square, and having the first game in New York, I think there was a strong message in that," Frazier said. "Sports is a healer for some people."

Frazier said sports serve an important purpose by allowing people to bond with their friends and family, and enjoy competition. But Frazier stopped short of declaring sports more meaningful since Sept. 11 in consideration of world events.

"I don't think it's more important (since the attacks)," Frazier said. "I think the most important thing is those troops of ours fighting the war trying to make sure that we can have a peaceful life. I think that's more important than anything."

Kevin O'Shea, 39, of Palolo, said sports had no more meaning for him since Sept. 11.

"Sports is entertainment," said O'Shea, who is a fan of professional football and works as a fabricator. "When it comes down to life and death, sports is so manini. I don't see how you can connect it or compare it to Sept. 11."

Denise Ginoza of Mo'ili'ili said the terrorist attacks worried and upset her, and watching sports allowed her temporary relief.

"It was an outlet," said Ginoza, who works as a sales consultant and watched several UH football games following Sept. 11. "Anything to make you feel better. You have to go on, you have to get back to normal."

Mike Borges, 50, of Honolulu, said his desire for sports waned after Sept. 11, but only for a few weeks.

"At first it was hard," said Borges, who works for the state judiciary. "I didn't want to watch football. You wanted to suspend sports out of respect to the United States."

Two weeks later, Borges started playing tennis. He was happy to see how the world embraced and cheered for professional tennis players during international matches. He also liked the increase in patriotism from the sports teams.

"In football, I liked how they put the flag emblem on their helmets," Borges said. "It really showed that they were proud to be American."