Every year, the Boston Marathon brings the Massachusetts city together to witness the world’s oldest annual event of its kind.
On April 13, 2013, however, the event became tethered with a horrific tragedy, as well as the inspiring and unwavering reaction of Bostonians in the aftermath. Two brothers planted two pressure cooker bombs about 200 yards apart near the marathon finish line, killing three and injuring hundreds.
The country and the city of Boston came together to honor the victims and overcome the trauma under the slogan “Boston Strong.” Naturally, the terrorist attack and this mobilization became the trending topic in the American media landscape, but one speech stood out to audiences around the country.
Stephen Colbert, who, at the time, was hosting The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, paid tribute to Bostonians during the opening of his April 16 program by highlighting their tenacity shown across history, from the pilgrims to Aerosmith and, of course, the Boston Marathon bombing.
What was Stephen Colbert’s Boston Marathon bombing speech and why was it memorable?
It wouldn’t be a proper late-night talk show monologue without some humor and what’s great about Colbert’s Boston Marathon bombing speech is that, just three days after the harrowing incident, the comedian managed to put a smile on everyone’s faces, yet never losing sight of what mattered most.
“We really wanted to say how much we admired what Boston had done and what a foolish thing it is to attack any place in America,” Colbert told CBS Boston later. At the time, on Twitter, the video was shared repeatedly as people labeled it a “must watch” and “a thing of beauty.” It is still being shared today.
“Tonight — look, before we begin, I just want to take a moment to talk about the attack in Boston yesterday. Obviously, our thoughts and our prayers are with everybody there. And as the president said, we don’t know who did this, but they will be found, and they will be brought to justice. But whoever did this obviously did not know s**t about the people of Boston. Because nothing these terrorists do is going to shake them. For Pete’s sake, Boston was founded by the pilgrims — a people so tough they had to buckle their goddamn hats on. It is the cradle of the American Revolution. A city that withstood an 86-year losing streak [referring to the Boston Red Sox]. A city that made it through the Big Dig, a construction project that backed up traffic for 16 years — I mean, there are commuters just getting home now. Even their bands are tough. It’s the hometown of Aerosmith, who, in their fifth decade, are still going strong. Even Steven Tyler looks fantastic, for a 73-year-old woman.
But here is what these cowards really don’t get. They attacked the Boston Marathon. An event celebrating people who run 26 miles on their day off until their nipples are raw for fun. And they have been holding it in Boston since 1897. And do you know how tough you have to be to run in a whalebone corset? And when those bombs went off, there were runners who, after finishing a marathon, kept running for another two miles to the hospital to donate blood.
So here’s what I know. These maniacs may have tried to make life bad for the people of Boston, but all they can ever do is show just how good those people are.”
You can watch the speech in full on Comedy Central’s website.
