Mike Bianchi: On an emotional opening night, Magic pay tribute to victims of Pulse shooting.
their opening night, the Orlando Magic brought the community together to commemorate a tragedy.
And hopefully someday in the not-too-distant future, they will bring us together again to celebrate a championship.
The Magic’s season-opening, pre-game tribute Wednesday night to the 49 victims who perished at Pulse Nightclub was equal parts heart-breaking and gut-wrenching; uplifting and unifying. The Magic may have lost the game 108-96 to the Miami Heat, but they won the hearts of the second-largest crowd in franchise history
“I’ve always said there are two things that bring a community together — sports and trageOn dy,” Magic CEO Alex Martins told me in the days leading up to the opener against the Miami Heat. “In sports, we have an amazing opportunity to bring people together — in good times and in bad.”
We certainly endured more than just bad times this summer; we suffered a historic civic nightmare on that horrific June night when a demented mon-
ster left dozens dead at Pulse and left millions nationwide in shock. The City Beautiful was suddenly transformed into the City Tragedy.
And on this emotional, devotional night, we transformed into the City Magical.
“I just felt so much pride, unity and commitment in our city tonight,” said Orlando police officer Gladys Justiniano, one of the first responders who sang the national anthem before the game.
The most touching tribute came when a pre-game video highlighted how the city banded together in the Pulse aftermath. How we all became more caring, more tolerant, more inclusive. As it played, local artist Brandon Parsons sang a song he wrote about the desolation and determination of our city after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The song title: “49 Times.” “And in the blink of an eye, Our hearts slowly died, As we felt our pulse, 49 times. “… Takes more than just a gun
More than you to tear us down So let your colors fly free … We are, we are, Orlando We are, we are Orlando Strong.” Tears flowed throughout the arena from survivors, relatives, Pulse employees and first responders who were honored at mid-court. Then the Magic unveiled the rainbow No. 49 banner that will forever hang from the ceiling of the Amway Center — an eternal, communal reminder of who we are, where we’ve been and how much we’ve overcome.
“They’ve been through so much; more than any of us hopefully will ever have to go through,” new Magic coach Frank Vogel said when asked about the pre-game tribute to the survivors and family members. “We just want to honor them and show them that we love them and understand what they’ve been through.”
Off the court, the Magic have always rallied behind the community in times of need. On the court, let us hope the city has a reason to rally behind the Magic in this crucial season.
After four miserable, mundane seasons of massive losses, Wednesday night began Year 5 of the postDwightmare rebuild. It was a night when the Magic unveiled their new coach and their new roster. But can they regain some of their old fans who have abandoned them amid a long drought of dysfunction and defeat?
The Magic have a combined record 103-225 during the past four seasons, no playoff appearances and are now on their third coach. The team has been so broken that former coach Scott Skiles, in a nearly unprecedented move, left millions of dollars on the table and just quit last year after only one season. Magic management has let it be known that they feel Skiles’ departure was a hidden blessing. His sudden, shocking exit coincided with Indiana not renewing the contract of the highly respected Vogel, who took the Pacers to the playoffs in five of his six seasons as coach. The Magic jumped at the chance to bring Vogel to Orlando.
Judging by Game 1, the revamped Magic are obviously a work in progress, but Vogel represents new hope and a new direction in a town still recovering from a terrible tragedy and starving for something to feel good about.
“When I look back at these last few months, and I think about our community coming together and the beginning of the healing process, I can’t help but think of the impact that sports have had,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who was also honored Wednesday night.
“Takes more than just a gun
More than you to tear us down.”
In good times and in bad, in victory and defeat, the Orlando Magic have always had a finger on the pulse of their community.