GOOD MORNING AMERICA host and former NFL player Michael Strahan has a primetime special about 9/11 coming soon.
“It’s been 25 years since the September 11th attacks…” said Strahan, who produced the project in part with his company, SMAC Productions. “The events of 9/11 were devastating for everybody. For all of us in sports, music and entertainment, we all realized we can all collectively help the country heal.”
The trailer glimpses celebrities, sports professionals and emergency workers from the time as they’re asked questions about what part they’ve played in helping America heal from the tragedy.
Some of the people interviewed are Jon Bon Jovi, Pete Davidson and Jimmy Fallon. Strahan said the special is very emotional as it stirs up memories of sorrow, but it provides hope, too.
On an episode of THE TONIGHT SHOW, Strahan told Fallon that initially, after the attack, he and others felt like doing their jobs was pointless.
“But at the end of the day, those were the moments that people were able to kind of move on and have just a few hours to remove themselves from all the trauma that was going on,” he said.
He also made it for the victims’ families and first responders who have direct ties to the event. He saw how hope brought everyone together 25 years ago, and feels like people need that again right now.
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“It’s amazing that you did that and honored everybody in that,” Fallon told him.
An eye-opening moment for Strahan was when he met Davidson years ago. At the time, Davidson brought up Strahan’s first game with the Giants after 9/11.
“’You guys had kids come out there with you on the field,’” Davidson recalled. “’You guys were holding hands, had kids on your shoulders and everything. I was one of those kids.’”
Davidson’s father was a NYC firefighter who died when parts of the Twin Towers collapsed on 9/11.
“He goes, ‘I was the kid on your shoulder,’” he told Strahan.
He never knew that he had helped a grieving child heal.
Strahan told ABC, “Sept. 11 was one of the scariest moments of my life. I remember the shock, the heartbreak and the feeling that nothing would ever be the same again. All I could think about was the people who had lost loved ones and the incredible courage of the first responders.”
He saw how sports and entertainment workers helped America come back from the wake of the tragedy, and knew it needed to be talked about.
“It gave people a chance to come together, support one another and begin to heal. This story is about honoring the lives we lost, celebrating the heroes who showed extraordinary courage and reminding us that even in our darkest moments, we’re stronger when we stand together,” said Strahan.
The special, called 9/11: UNITED WE STAND – 25 YEARS LATER, will air on Sept. 1 on ABC from 9-11pm EDT. It will stream the next day on Hulu and Disney+.
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