Songs Make Boston Strong
Not long after the tragic bombing of the Boston Marathon on April 15, the viral hash tag “Boston Strong” emerged on social media sites. The motto was quickly adopted by citizens, worn on their clothing and chanted at sporting events.
The Boston Bruins were the first team to play in a major sporting event in the city following the tragedy. On Wednesday, April 17, in the TD Garden Arena, legendary national anthem singer Rene Rancourt stepped onto the ice to perform before the NHL game against the Buffalo Sabers. However, when the fans began to sing along, Rancourt stepped aside and allowed them to take it away for this heartwarming and beautiful rendition of the song:
Post-anthem, the crowd began a familiar chant. But rather than “let’s go Bruins,” the entire arena erupted into a cheer of “let’s go Boston!” The Bruins came up short, losing 3-2 against Buffalo, but the city remained strong.
On the evening of April 19, Dzhokar Tsarnaev, the second suspect in the marathon bombing, was taken into custody. The following day, the Red Sox played the Kansas City Royals at Boston’s Fenway Park. During the 8th inning break, Neil Diamond appeared wearing a Red Sox cap to sing his hit “Sweet Caroline.”
Singing the song has been a tradition at Fenway since 2002. “There is a lot of comfort that music can offer,” Diamond said to the Associated Press. “I feel good about that.” The Red Sox pulled off a 4-3 victory over Kansas City.
Both the Red Sox and Bruins announced that they would be auctioning off jerseys to raise money to donate to The One Fund Boston, a charity organized to provide relief to bombing victims.
Nicholas Cellucci is in the class of 2016 at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He is studying Mass Communications and is a BUnow staff writer in addition to serving as Executive Producer for BUnow Radio.
