The bomb in Boston took me back to thoughts I had after September 11, 2001 when America shut down. I was particularly struck by news that a small airport in Kansas closed out of fear of terrorism. I did not think Kansas was an Al Qaeda target, but recognized that terrorism aimed at small targets could shut down the country. That is the danger of the Boston event.

Soon after September 11, I was asked to present a paper at a Sports Law conference on stadium security. In researching this paper, I became very aware of the enormous exposure and potential for damage presented by stadiums and arenas. Having 60,000 football fans in a stadium or 19,000 hockey fans in an arena was a tempting target as were shopping malls everywhere. An Oklahoma City style bomb attack would kill thousands as would a chemical/anthrax attack on the air supply of a domed stadium or arena. Such an attack would devastate attendance at such venues and could severely inhibit economic activity at malls or any public forum. A devastating event for the Nation. I was told later by a stadium administrator that the air supply of his building had been moved from the ground level to the roof to increase its security.

The Boston Bomb, located in a trash can, is very scary. If this shows a shift in terrorist strategy, this is the one that really scares me. Let us pray that Boston was an isolated event and not part of a grand scheme. If it is that latter, we are in for hard times.