Tag: welles crowther

Boston College uniforms for Notre Dame game an honor to American hero

When Boston College welcomes Notre Dame to town on Saturday, the Eagles will be wearing very special uniforms in honor of an American hero.

I’ll start by saying I’m kind of boring and old school in the sense that alternate uniforms don’t usually do very much for me.

Notre Dame wearing green on Saturday when they upset No. 1 Clemson would have made the game no more special to me than it was with them wearing blue and gold.

Maybe it’s the years of disappointment when the green was worn in huge games that made me this way, but whatever the case, I’m generally not much for them.

I will say Boston College’s alternate uniforms this weekend are about as good as it gets, however.

And it’s not simply based off their look, but the story behind them.

Saturday will be a “Red Bandanna Game” for Boston College, in honor of alumni Welles Crowther.

If you’ve never heard the story of the “Man in the Red Bandanna” during the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, then it’s worth a few minutes of your time to learn more.

In short, the 24 year old former Boston College lacrosse player was working in the WTC when the attacks took place.Β  A volunteer firefighter when he was just 16 years old, Crowther sprung to action immediately by helping guide many to stairways and exits, saving their lives before the tower fell.

Because of the smoke he put a red bandanna over his mouth and nose to protect from the smoke.Β  It happened that he always kept the red bandanna with him and survivors who he helped simply referred to him as the “Man in the Red Bandanna”.

At just 24 years old his spent the final minutes of his life helping save as many others as possible instead of running for the exit and saving himself.

If you’re interested, I try and watch the following piece on Crowther each September 11 just for some life perspective.

If there were more people in the world like Welles Crowther today, it’d undoubtedly be a much better place to live.