It’s been 11 years since Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz made a powerful speech before a game in 2013 after the Boston Marathon bombing. That was a scary time and so many people were feeling down about the events that happened at the marathon finish line on Boylston Street. What Big Papi said encapsulated what we were all feeling at the time and let us know that everything was going to be okay. Let’s look back on that time and remember how special and unifying it was for the city.
The Backdrop
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The Boston Marathon bombing happened on April 15, 2013, at 2:49 pm Eastern. Two bombs detonated 14 seconds apart near the end of the event when many non-elite runners were reaching the finish line in Copley Square. Three people were killed and more than 280 were injured, including 17 people who lost limbs. On April 18th, the FBI released images of two suspects in the bombing. The two suspects were named Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
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A huge manhunt engaged in the Boston suburb of Watertown to find the Tsarnaev brothers. Residents in Watertown and surrounding communities were asked to stay indoors and the transportation system and most businesses closed. However, In the most Boston fashion ever, Dunkin’ stayed open at the cops’ request.
On April 19th, four days after the unthinkable tragedy at Boston’s most famous event, the Red Sox were scheduled to play at Fenway Park. Since the Boston area was still in a state of lockdown, the game was canceled.
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That same day, Watertown resident Dave Henneberry walked out to his backyard where his boat was. He saw that the protective covering was ripped and that a guy was lying down in the boat. That guy happened to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the bombers. Then, Henneberry called 911 to inform the authorities of the situation. Tsarnaev was taken into custody that same night and the brutal Boston Marathon bombing saga was over and the Boston area could begin to return to normal.
David Ortiz’s Iconic Speech After The Boston Marathon Bombing
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At Fenway Park on April 20th, 2013, the first Red Sox home game since the marathon bombing happened, David Ortiz got on the loudspeaker and addressed the people in the stadium. Before Ortiz spoke, there was an emotional pre-game ceremony that honored the victims and first responders. However, to go from this heavy topic and the memory of bombing right to baseball seemed wrong.
“How do you go from that to playing baseball? It’s an emotional leap,” said Charles Steinberg, Former Red Sox Executive Vice President, and Emerson College Sports Communication Professor in a 2018 interview. “That’s when I said, ‘We need an elbow. We need a transition. We need something to take us from the gravity of this ceremony that will somehow let the fans be ready to play baseball.’ That’s when the notion of having David Ortiz be the punctuation mark arose.”
The Red Sox star then went out onto the field. He didn’t say much, but what he did say, he said with power, emotion, and impact. His most famous line from the speech remains,
“This is our f***king city.”
The rest of the speech goes as follows,
All right, all right, Boston.
This jersey that we wear today. It doesn’t say Red Sox. It says Boston.
We want to thank you, Mayor Menino, Governor [Deval] Patrick and the whole police department for the great job they did this past week.
This is our f****** city, and nobody’s gonna dictate our freedom. Stay strong. Thank you.
The crowd roared with applause after their team’s best player gave an incredibly powerful speech after such an immense tragedy. David Ortiz was one of the people who helped the people of Boston heal after the marathon bombing. In the games after the bombing, the team hung up a jersey in the dugout that said “Boston Strong” with the number 617 on it, the city’s area code.
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This time also created the phrase “Boston Strong”. A phrase that you will see on sweatshirts being sold by street vendors all over Boston, including in the Boston Common. In the face of other tragedies across the United States, other cities would adopt the “Boston Strong” messaging using their city instead. One day after the Boston Marathon Bombing, Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks sent out a tweet in support of the city while the team was playing a three-game series in Cleveland.
I can't wait to put on my jersey today… I get to play for the strongest city out there. #BostonStrong
— Will Middlebrooks (@middlebrooks) April 16, 2013
The Red Sox’s Storybook 2013 Season
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The heroics of the Red Sox didn’t end there.
In the ALCS, with the Red Sox down 5-1 against the Detroit Tigers and Boston down 1-0 in the series, David Ortiz was at bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs. Big Papi smacks a ball into deep right field. Those who know what play I’m talking about, you can see in your head clear as day right fielder Torii Hunter take a nasty spill flipping over the fence into the bullpen and the police officer throwing his hands up. David Ortiz had tied the game when the Sox had needed it most.
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This was a moment that made it clear that it was the Red Sox’s destiny to win the whole thing that year. The team would then go on to win the series 4-2 and advance to the World Series.
In the World Series, the Red Sox played the St. Louis Cardinals. Boston would win the series in six games and win the team’s third ring in ten years. It was the first time in 95 years that the Red Sox won the World Series at Fenway Park. The tragedy that happened in that city six months ago would rally the team, give them something to fight for, and win in a historic way in October of 2013.
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David Ortiz also had a historic season, hitting an impressive .309 batting average during the 2013 season.
When you think of great speeches in sports history, David Ortiz’s Patriots Day speech has to be near the top of that list. When I think of the Boston Marathon and Patriots Day in New England, Big Papi’s iconic speech is always something that comes to my mind. We will continue to be Boston Strong!
