One of the most inspiring sights in sports is a flyover. The sight of a squadron of American fighter planes zooming over a packed stadium, sometimes trailing colored smoke, always elicits a roar of approval from the crowd and more than a few goosebumps.

Flyovers are often done during championship games, and almost always during times of war or other times of national tribute.

There will be no flyovers this weekend.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a blanket restriction on airspace near “major” sporting events this weekend in response to a flood of requests by both professional and college sports organizations to aircraft from flying by their games.

Initially, the University of Michigan asked for the restriction over its football stadium, which seats over 107,000, the most in college football. The University of Wisconsin also made such a request, and pretty soon the FAA just threw its hand up and said no plane could go within three miles of any “major” sporting event, although “major” wasn’t defined.

Sports officials believe that sports fans will be more open to attending games if they don’t have to worry about the occasional 747 that cruises by.

I would say they are overestimating the fear level of America at this point. We are getting back to some semblance of normalcy, and we are less nervous about being in or near obvious terrorist targets, like monuments, buildings and transportation hubs. The sight of a jet soaring above us doesn’t make us run for cover.

They are also underestimating our intelligence, as well. Even the FAA admits its mandate really can’t prevent a plane from flying through this restricted airspace -it only gives the FAA a reason to punish someone who does.

I’m guessing airspace around the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was restricted, and look how much that helped.

It’s difficult to admit, but there’s very little we can do right now if someone was determined to hijack a plane and fly it into Comiskey Park this weekend. Deep down, we all know this.

So the few of us who are still understandably afraid to go near the Sears Tower or the St. Louis Arch are probably not lining up to get bleacher tickets. Saying planes aren’t allowed to go near sports games isn’t going to allay that fear.

For the most part, however, fans won’t think about the danger of catching a game this weekend. They’ll wonder if they brought enough charcoal for the hibachi in the bed of the pickup truck.

We’ve rebounded from this tragedy wonderfully. We have pulled together and celebrated our Americanness. Part of that Americanness is tailgating and screaming at the top of our lungs at overpaid professional athletes and dressing up like weirdos in our team’s colors.

So let us do it without reminding us that the world has changed. Let us have our pennant races and 50-degree football games and roaring race cars.

Let us have our flyovers.