Boston College fans hold up red bandanas honoring fallen 9/11 hero Welles Crowther in a game on Sep. 16, 2023. Photo courtesy of BC Football and Meg Kelly.
The upcoming football game between Michigan State and Boston College, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21, will carry on a tradition with a much greater purpose than a regular football game.
This will be what's known as the "Red Bandana" game at Alumni Stadium, which includes an annual tradition honoring fallen 9/11 hero Welles Crowther.
Boston College players will wear special red bandana-themed uniforms with the words “For Welles" written across the back. Before the game, there will be a moment of silence held for Crowther and all victims of the 9/11 attacks.
The game was also moved from its original time of 3:30 to the primetime slot of 8:00 p.m., where it will be nationally televised.
Welles Crowther was a former Boston College lacrosse player who always wore a red bandana his father gave him when he was six years old. After his college lacrosse career, Crowther went on to work as an equities trader at the World Trade Center.
ESPN documentary The Man in the Red Bandana telling Crowther's story was released in 2017. During the 9/11 attacks, he risked his life to guide and assist others to safety, wearing his signature red bandana to identify himself amidst the chaos. Crowther made multiple trips through the smoke-filled, debris-strewn stairwells of the South Tower.
Despite having the opportunity to escape the building and save his own life, Crowther wouldn’t leave until he could save as many people possible, helping dozens of people escape before ultimately losing his own life when the building collapsed.
Digital storytelling sophomore Hannah Greer is a shortstop on the MSU softball team. She has an NIL deal with Charitable Gift America, a nonprofit that supports hundreds of charitable organizations and individual philanthropists around the country. With the deal, she chose a charity to support: the Welles Remy Crowther fund.
“The Red Bandana game between Boston College and MSU means so much to me,” Greer said. “It's really full circle because of my connection to 9/11 and my route to MSU. I just transferred here, and now MSU is playing Boston College for their red bandana game. Kind of unique.”
As the Michigan State and Boston College teams take the field under the lights, this game will be more than just a gridiron matchup between two storied programs; it will be a tribute to a hero whose legacy transcends sports.
“It is so important as athletes, to give back,” Greer said. “9/11 is so important to me as a New Yorker, so any chance to give back to those whose lives were lost is one that I am going to take. That’s what Welles would have wanted.”
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