Not an April 15th will pass by in Bostonian’s minds without reliving the tragic 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
Krystie Campbell, 29, Lu Lingzi, 23 and Martin Richard, eight, were taken during the attack while hundreds more were injured on April 15, 2013. And Sean Collier, 26, was killed in a standoff with the bombers days later. Forever the victims will be remembered and three years later, the city is still truly Boston Strong.
The city had been locked down for days and finally on April 20th came the first major event since the Bombing came around, a Red Sox-Royals game. The two teams had been scheduled to play the day before, on a Friday. But it was postponed.
It was tough to say how the city would react, but tickets became a hot commodity when it was announced that the game was on for Saturday.
Before the game, of course, many were honored local politicians, law enforcement and victim’s families. Fresh off the Disabled List due to his Achilles’ injury from the season prior, Red Sox DH David Ortiz’ speech will not be forgotten.
Ortiz went 2-for-4 in his return, Clay Buchholz was sharp and Daniel Nava went deep. The Red Sox went on to win the game 4-3, improving to 12-4 on the season.
It is safe to say the city will never fully recover from the bombings. But the way the Red Sox rallied in 2013, playing with passion, they gave the city something to rally behind, easing the pain a little bit.
Other than talent, there was something special about the 2013 Red Sox. Specifically, they never gave up. Sure, they had a potent offense and a strong pitching staff. But it would not mean much if they did not grind for nine innings and they did just that.
They just refused to lose.
They were a championship team and did not disappoint, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in six games.
The beards, the black armbands, the 617 jersey in the dugout, the team represented Boston with their strong play on the field and character off of it.
Perhaps the final touch was the World Series trophy and 617 jersey making their way to the marathon finish line during the parade.
Definitely something many will never forget.
Today, there will be a moment of silence for the victims of the bomibngs at 2:49 p.m. at City Hall Plaza.