Peter King feels “so close” to Boston

9/11 was a horrific event that changed our lives.

The bombings at the Boston Marathon this past Monday have, and will continue to shape our lives just like 9/11 did and still does to this very day.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King was born and raised in Springfield, Mass., which is about 90 minutes from Boston. He lives in New York now, but he hasn’t let the fact that him not living in Massachusetts anymore change his feelings about his home state or what happened at the Boston Marathon.

“I bought running shoes at the Marathon Sports store that had it’s windows blown out, these glasses are from the LensCrafters that had the windows blown out,” King said. “I feel so close to that area, and there’s no question our lives have been changed forever because of 9/11, because of so many events in the last 10 or 12 years.”

“I’m convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that we can’t allow that to rule our lives, we have to live our lives,” King said. “We can’t allow people who want to change what we want to do to change it.”

Despite this tragic event, King’s feelings toward the Boston Marathon and being a part of it hasn’t wavered.

“I hope about three million of my closest friends join me next Patriots Day, because I’ll be as close to the finish line next year as I possibly can get,” King said.