Former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi was on Boylston Street on Monday afternoon when two explosions rocked the Boston Marathon. Bruschi, who was there to cheer on those who were running for his charity, Tedy’s Team, was at the nearby Lenox Hotel in a room he said was in between both blasts. He gave his eye-witness account to SportsCenter (video above):
“I happened to have my head out of the window at the time because one of our runners had crossed and I was continuing to watch runners crossed the finish line,” said Bruschi. “When I did, looking out to my right seeing the first explosion, from my vantage point on the left side of the street. Looking at it, I was thinking to myself, ‘Did that just happen and is that what I think it is?’ And right when I was thinking that people started running toward me, and I realized what it was when I felt the second explosion to the rear of where I was looking out and sort of felt the whoosh from behind my head. I was in the middle of both explosions and looked to the left and saw the same thing happen there.”
Bruschi, who ran the Boston Marathon last year, found it particularly appalling that the explosions happened around the 4-hour mark (4:09:44 to be exact) of the race.
“That time, the four-hour mark, that’s when in my opinion the true spirit of the Boston Marathon comes into effect,” Bruschi said. “All of the runners are running for something, something that’s inspired them. Everyone has been touched by stroke on my running team. … All of these runners, this is when they finish. This is when all of their family members are there. It’s probably one of the most joyous times of the marathon because these are runners that have put their lives aside to raise funds and train. So many families are going through sacrifices. It takes a lot to run a marathon.”
Bruschi also talked about the sense of pride New Englanders take in Patriots Day.
“The kids are off from school. It’s a day where the Red Sox are playing, the Bruins have a game, everyone comes to the city. On this particular day it was beautiful. ... Everyone’s just proud to be a New Englander and you’re proud to show that by supporting people in the Boston Marathon or going to see your favorite team play. It’s a day of pride for many New Englanders. I know it is for myself and my wife and my family, just spending the day down in Boston like we have the last eight years. Some wonderful people that run this race and put on this race."