Stadiums that are normally filled with thousands of roaring fans sat empty with the exception of the occassional maintenance worker or security guard making the rounds. Parking lots that are usually crammed full of endless rows of cars, trucks, RVs, and tailgaters were completely empty and the gates were all locked.

The NFL decided to cancel its week-two schedule in light of the terrorist activity, and many of its players and coaches are using this time to take action in other ways.

Some of the players are taking the time to spend with their family and friends, and no one can fault them for that, but others are using this unexpected break in the action to pitch in to the relief effort.

In Indianapolis, players and cheerleaders stood outside the RCA Dome collecting donations for the relief effort from fans passing by. In New Orleans, Randy Mueller and 22 Saints' players spent the day collecting donations as well, while in New York, Giants' running back Tiki Barber and fullback Greg Comella collected items for children of the firemen lost in the tragedy.

On Saturday, 35 members of the New York Giants traveled to the site of the devastation and destruction to try and raise the spirits of the relief workers that are just beginning to clean up the tremendous calamity that remains after the hijacked airliners slammed into the World Trade Center.

The Washington Redskins have established a fund for victims of the attack on the Pentagon, the Pittsburgh Steelers attended a memorial service for victims of United Airlines Flight 93 on Friday night, and the San Francisco 49ers took time away from practice to donate 70 pints of blood.

The Tennessee Titans helped launch a disaster relief fund to aid the American Red Cross, and the Atlanta Falcons are going to play a flag football game next week to raise money for New York police officers and firemen.