MICHAEL STRAHAN REVEALS THE SURPRISING 9/11 CONNECTION THAT BROUGHT HIM CLOSER TO PETE DAVIDSON

Michael Strahan is opening up about his unexpected connection with Pete Davidson and the friendship that began in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Good Morning America host reflects on that difficult period in the new documentary 9/11: United We Stand — 25 Years Later, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

At the time of the attacks, Strahan was playing for the New York Giants. He had returned to his home in Montclair, New Jersey, after a Monday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos when the unimaginable happened.

“We were lost,” Strahan said. “We were scared. We were so out of our element because we had never seen anything like that.”

Pete Davidson was also deeply affected by the tragedy. His father, New York City firefighter Scott Davidson, was killed during the attacks.

For Strahan and many others, football became a small source of comfort during an incredibly painful time. He explained that returning to the sport gave people something familiar to focus on as they tried to cope.

“For us, the only thing we could do was to give people something they could be distracted by on a Sunday afternoon,” Strahan said.

“That was the only small contribution we could make — but at the same time, we felt like it was an important one.”

Strahan also acknowledged that the need for distraction and a sense of normalcy extended to the players themselves.

“We look back now and realize how much it was needed, but I don’t want it to get lost: It was needed by us as well.”

What Strahan didn’t realize for more than 15 years was that his path had already crossed with Davidson’s shortly after the attacks, at a Giants game.

That unexpected connection eventually became part of the friendship they share today—one rooted in a tragedy that changed both of their lives in very different ways.

9/11: United We Stand — 25 Years Later is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+.