Xenophon Strategies

September 11 Remembrances: Houston, TX

Blake Rhodes

Editors Note: As our nation commemorates the 10^th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on The World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA, our staff will share their memories of that fateful day.  Whether they were in New York, near the Pentagon, at an aviation conference in Seattle, conducting business in London or sitting in high school classes around the country, each of us took time to reflect on the moments of that day which changed the way we live in the United States.

September 2001 was an exciting time for me both personally and professionally.  My now-wife and I were in the final planning stages for our wedding that was two months away.  My boss had just left the Giants, so when Barry Bonds approached the single-season home run record I had the opportunity of a career for a communications specialist in professional sports.

My memories of that fateful Tuesday morning in September 2001 actually start two days prior in Denver, where Bonds hit home runs 61, 62 and 63 to move past Babe Ruth’s single-season mark for a left-handed hitter and within seven of Mark McGwire’s record.  We had an off day in Houston that next day and I was called to the hotel suite of Brian Sabean, the Giants general manager, who informed me that there was a death threat made against Bonds.  We made plans to have both uniformed and plainclothes police officers accompany the team for the rest of the season to protect Bonds and his teammates.  I prepared for the media onslaught that would come the next day at the ballpark with a new security detail brought on by a death threat.

I never got to the ballpark that next day.  That day is one that will always remain with Americans for the rest of their lives – September 11.  As the radio alarm went off, I remember hearing something about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center.  I hit the snooze button and didn’t think much of it.  When I got up and tried to dial into Major League Baseball’s computer statistical system in New York, all I was getting was a busy signal.  Back in the days of dial up, this happened often, but it was still frustrating.  Then my-then fiancée Carin called in tears and said, “Did you hear what happened in New York?  Have you heard from my sister (who lives in New York)?”  That’s when I turned on the TV and found out what happened.

I spent much of September 11 and the ensuing days in Sabean’s suite, watching the coverage and strategizing about what the next steps would be for the team ranging from postponing games, dealing with the media and returning to San Francisco.  In fact, we were able to sidestep the issue of the death threat against Bonds as we were able to justify the extra police presence surrounding the team following the attacks. After spending three days in Houston, our charter flight was the first one allowed by the FAA to fly out of Houston’s Hobby Airport. 

Landing in San Francisco is always a great thing, but coming home from that roadtrip and all that it entailed was the most relief I’ve ever felt on touchdown.

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