There were so many heroes on September 11, 2001. When terrorists hijacked four commercial planes that day, the passengers and crew on United Flight 93 did not go quietly. They fought back and made the ultimate sacrifice to save thousands. The Bay Area’s Mark Bingham was on that flight. 25 years la ter, his legacy is celebrated and honored in a sport he loved to play in a community often harassed and overlooked. Jessica Aguirre has the story. The men on the pitch have a lot of gratitude for Mark Bingham, whether they knew him or know of him. His legacy lives on in the Fog Rugby. Founded in 2000, Fog is the first gay and inclusive rugby club on the west coast. Bingham is one of the team’s original members. Dany Samreth played against Bingham on the field. He says, “he’s the human equivalent of a golden retriever, right? You know, happy-go-lucky, that guy who will buy you drinks at the bar, but on the field, tough as nails. He will protect your back.” Bingham protected thousands on September 11, 2001. He was among the passengers on the Flight 93 who hatched up a plan to storm the cockpit and overtake the hijackers. They never made it in. The hijackers plummeted the plane into a rural field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Bingham is a national hero for his actions, but it was his bravery every day in life that made him a respected teammate. “It was just meaningful for him to join a team that was focused primarily towards gay and queer men,” says Samreth. Bingham was an avid advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. His name now lives forever in the “Bingham Cup”, the largest amateur rugby tournament in the world. At the Witter Rugby field at UC Berkeley, Bingham is honored every 9/11. He played at Cal and was a member of the university’s 1991 National Championship team. Jack Clark coached Bingham. “We had a reunion in the late spring, you know, before 9-11 and it was a reunion of the 1991 championship team and Mark had come back,” says Clark. He goes on to say, “he was happy and I know that he enjoyed catching up with a lot of his teammates and it was just a short period of time after that that we lost him. We were as much in awe of his sacrifice as anyone and we were proud of Mark.” An etching of Bingham’s name from the National 9/11 memorial and museum in New York hangs at Cal’s Rugby fieldhouse. And, on every September 11, Cal’s rugby squad members do a team run in Mark’s name. Coach Clark says, “we just you know try to make sure that these players understand what happened on 9/11 and its connection to our university and our team.” ...read more read less