Thinking Late at Night

I'm sitting here in an empty office with the sounds of televisions left on drifting down the hall. Its late, but I've been busy thinking.

Back in August, the Alabama football team held their fan day. However, prior to the event there was a media session earlier in the late morning, right before the players and coaches lined up in the bleachers for the team's annual photo. After the session concluded, lasting about twenty minutes or so, there was a few hours before the scrimmage actually began. I waited with a handful of other media members in the north endzone before walking to the elevator to go up to the press box, a stroll I've taken countless times before. Then, as I was walking, I was stopped by an officer inside the stadium to have my bag checked.

I remember arriving way to early (5 hours) to the SEC Championship this past December, placing my backpack down in the auxiliary media section in one of the endzones so I would be free to walk around outside. Upon returning to the press box, I gazed down and saw a man in a yellow jacket examining my bag, looking for the gold ribbon that would show it had been checked.

Both times I was almost taken back by the fact that my bags would have to be looked at-I am a good person.

Then I thought about what happened Monday in Boston and I remembered the reason why my bags were scrutinized is because there are bad people out there.

ESPN's Mike Greenberg wrote in his book Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot "The next time the mortgage is due and the baby is crying, and the care in front of you is taking up both lanes--that is the best time to fret over someone dropping a ball you care too much about. It might not make your troubles disappear, but it might make them blurry."

Sports are unique in that sense. It is an escape, yes, but brings us together. We not only remember the biggest moments for our respective teams, but who we were with when they occurred. That is the magic of sports.

The Boston Marathon is one of those experiences. ESPN writer Bill Simmons, a Massachusetts native wrote on his twitter " Best way I can explain it: Marathon Monday is sacred in and around Boston. You spend it with friends and family. It's more than a holiday."

That is when I lost it. The purity, everything I love about sports, and the same things those in Boston likely embraced as well was taken as those bombs shook the streets. Its not fair. Its not fair that hundreds are injured and three, including an eight year old boy have died attending a sporting event with their family and friends.

I am still sitting here, over an hour later, still deep in thought trying to make sense of it, trying to comprehend it. I can not.

Prayers to those affected and a salute to all of those who jumped into help without a moment of hesitation, both in uniform and everyday citizens. To find out how you can help, click here.