Liam MacKenzie – Treasurer/Sports Editor
New York, NY – Sometimes, there are moments in sports that strike directly at the heart of a nation and remind us that the games we love can represent something far greater than competition. That was certainly the case on September 11, 2001, when Americans stood together under one flag during one of the darkest days in our nation’s history.
The sports world was brought to a standstill as the country attempted to comprehend the tragedy unfolding in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Stadiums went quiet, games were postponed and athletes, coaches and fans found themselves facing the same grief and uncertainty as millions of Americans.
But when sports eventually returned, they became more than games. Football fields, baseball diamonds and stadiums became places where Americans could gather, honor those who were lost and find small moments of hope during an extraordinarily difficult time.
Twenty-five years later, the stories that emerged from the sports world continue to carry that same meaning. From athletes who became heroes to teams that represented their cities, these are stories of courage, sacrifice, patriotism and a nation determined to remember.
Welles Crowther: The Man in the Red Bandanna – One of the most powerful stories connecting sports to September 11 is that of Welles Crowther, a former Boston College lacrosse player who was working in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the attacks occurred. Crowther became known as “The Man in the Red Bandanna” because of the red bandanna he wore while helping others escape the burning building.
Crowther helped numerous people reach safety before returning to help others who remained trapped. He ultimately lost his life when the South Tower collapsed, but his actions transformed him from a college athlete into a symbol of extraordinary courage, selflessness and sacrifice.
More than a decade later, Boston College found a way to ensure Crowther’s legacy would continue through athletics. In 2014, the school held its first Red Bandanna Game, with the Eagles defeating No. 9 USC in a memorable upset that helped establish what would become an annual tradition.
The Red Bandanna Game became about much more than football. Each year, Boston College uses the game to honor Crowther’s memory and encourage its athletes, students and fans to embody the courage and selflessness that defined his life.
The 25th anniversary of September 11 brought even greater significance to the tradition. Boston College hosted Rutgers in the 2026 Red Bandanna Game, with the Eagles entering the contest still searching for their first victory of the season.
The Eagles delivered a victory while honoring Crowther’s legacy. Boston College’s first win of the 2026 season gave the afternoon an additional layer of meaning for a program that had gathered to remember one of its own.
One play in particular carried a meaning that extended far beyond the Scoreboard. Running back Evan Dickens broke free for a 19-yard touchdown run, with the number 19 holding special significance because it was the number Crowther wore during his Boston College lacrosse career.
A 19-yard touchdown would normally be remembered as another scoring play in a football game. On that Friday afternoon, it became a tribute to the former Eagle whose No. 19 had come to represent courage and sacrifice.
After the final whistle, the emotion of the day continued inside the Boston College locker room. Surrounded by the players who had just honored her son, Alison Crowther joined the team in a moment that brought the celebration back to the reason everyone had gathered in the first place.
After one of the players counted, “One, two, three,” Crowther and the rest of the Boston College Eagles’ Football team responded with two simple words: “For Welles.” The team echoed the sentiment, creating a powerful locker-room moment that honored her son on the 25th anniversary of September 11.
For the Boston College players, the victory was about more than finally getting into the win column. It was an opportunity to honor a former Eagle whose story has continued to inspire the program and the people who wear the maroon and gold.
The Red Bandanna Game demonstrates the unique power sports can have in preserving someone’s memory. Welles Crowther may have lost his life on September 11, 2001, but through Boston College, his story continues to reach generations who never had the opportunity to meet him.
Twenty-five years later, his number still takes the field and his red bandanna still carries meaning. His story reminds us that the greatest victories are sometimes measured not by what happens on the scoreboard, but by the lives we choose to impact.
Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis: A Loss Felt Across Hockey – The tragedy of September also reached the hockey world through the loss of Los Angeles Kings scouts Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis. The two men were traveling together aboard United Airlines Flight 175 when it was hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Bailey had been a longtime NHL player, spending the majority of his playing career with the Boston Bruins before becoming a scout for the Kings. Bavis, a Massachusetts native and former University of Maine hockey player, had also built a career in hockey and was working alongside Bailey in the Kings organization.
Their deaths sent shockwaves throughout the hockey community. They were not simply members of the NHL family; they were teammates, colleagues, friends and family members whose lives were taken while traveling to the West Coast for their work.
For the Kings and the broader hockey community, remembering Bailey and Bavis became part of remembering the thousands of lives lost that day. Their stories serve as another reminder that September 11 did not spare the sports world from its devastating reach.
Mike Piazza: One Swing for a City – Ten days after September 11, professional baseball returned to New York City. The New York Mets welcomed the Atlanta Braves to Shea Stadium on September 21, 2001, marking the first professional sporting event in New York following the attacks.
The Mets entered the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 2-1 when Mike Piazza stepped into the batter’s box. Piazza launched a two-run home run into the left-center-field seats, giving New York a 3-2 lead and ultimately delivering a victory.
For the more than 41,000 people inside Shea Stadium, the moment meant far more than baseball. A city that had spent the previous 10 days mourning was given a reason to cheer together again.
Piazza’s home run remains one of the most iconic moments in Mets history because of what it represented. For one night, baseball provided New Yorkers with an opportunity to gather, celebrate and experience a brief sense of normalcy.
Pat Tillman: From the Football Field to the Battlefield – For Pat Tillman, September 11 changed the direction of his life. Tillman had established himself as an NFL safety with the Arizona Cardinals, but the attacks caused him to reconsider what he wanted his future to look like.
In 2002, Tillman walked away from his NFL career and enlisted in the United States Army alongside his brother, Kevin. He left behind professional football to serve his country, believing that his responsibility to something larger than himself outweighed his career on the field.
Tillman served in Iraq and Afghanistan before he was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. His story became one of the most recognizable examples of how September 11 continued to affect athletes long after the attacks themselves.
His football career could have defined his legacy, but Tillman’s decision to serve became an equally important part of his story. His name remains associated with sacrifice, service and the willingness to put country before personal success.
Mark Bingham: A Rugby Player Who Fought Back – The sports world was also represented aboard United Airlines Flight 93. Mark Bingham, a former University of California, Berkeley rugby player, was among passengers aboard the hijacked aircraft.
After speaking with family members by telephone, Bingham and other passengers learned that the hijackers intended to use the plane as a weapon. The passengers ultimately attempted to regain control of the aircraft before Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Bingham’s rugby background became part of the story of his courage. The qualities associated with competition, including strength, leadership, determination and standing together with teammates, were qualities that followed him into the most consequential moment of his life.
His story serves as a reminder that athletes are defined by more than what they accomplish on a field. For Bingham, the courage he displayed on September 11 became part of the legacy he left behind.
When the NFL Returned – For nearly two weeks following the attacks, the NFL suspended play as the country attempted to process what had happened. When football returned on September 23, 2001, the games carried an emotional weight that extended far beyond the final score.
The New York Giants had unknowingly found themselves connected to the tragedy before they even knew what was happening. After playing the Denver Broncos on September 10 in the first regular-season game at the new Invesco Field at Mile High, the Giants returned to Newark International Airport around 6 a.m. the following morning, with their charter arriving near the same time hijackers were boarding United Airlines Flight 93.
The Giants’ charter was parked near Flight 93 before the aircraft departed Newark for San Francisco. At the time, the team had no idea that the passengers they had unknowingly been near would soon become part of one of the most heartbreaking stories of September 11.
Nearly two weeks later, the Giants traveled to Kansas City to face the Chiefs in their first game back. New York came away with a 13-3 victory, while the game gave the Giants an opportunity to represent a city that was still grieving.
The New York Jets also returned that day, traveling to Foxboro Stadium to face the New England Patriots. The Jets defeated New England 10-3, giving first-year head coach Herman Edwards his first victory with New York, in a game filled with tributes to New York’s police officers and firefighters.
For the Giants and Jets, those victories represented more than adding a win to the standings. They were opportunities to represent a city that was still grieving and demonstrate that Americans could eventually begin gathering together again.
Joe Andruzzi: Football and Family – Few stories connected football and the first responders of September 11 more directly than that of Patriots offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi. Three of his brothers, Billy, Jimmy and Marc, were New York City firefighters, meaning the attacks placed his own family directly in the middle of the tragedy.
When the Patriots and Jets met at Foxboro Stadium on September 23, Andruzzi’s brothers were honored before the game. In a moment that became one of the defining images of sports after September 11, Andruzzi grabbed two American flags from inside the stadium tunnel and carried them onto the field.
The image of Andruzzi holding the flags high captured what many Americans were feeling at the time. He was not simply representing the Patriots or the city of Boston; he was representing a country standing behind firefighters, police officers and first responders who had run toward danger.
The Yankees and a City Searching for Hope – The New York Yankees reached the 2001 World Series only weeks after the attacks, giving a grieving city another team to rally behind. Their matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks eventually went seven games, but some of the most memorable moments occurred before the games even began.
On October 30, President George W. Bush walked onto the mound at Yankee Stadium to throw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3. Wearing an FDNY pullover, Bush received a roaring response from the crowd as Yankee Stadium filled with chants of “U-S-A!”
The following night, Lee Greenwood performed “God Bless the U.S.A.” before Game 4. The song had already become closely associated with American pride, but its presence at Yankee Stadium just weeks after September 11 carried a significance that extended well beyond baseball.
The Yankees ultimately lost the World Series in seven games, but their postseason run became part of New York’s healing process. The games gave the city still carrying enormous pain something to watch, something to cheer for and, if only temporarily, something to celebrate.
Super Bowl XXXVI: A Tribute to Those Lost – Five months after the attacks, the New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams met in Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome. The Patriots won 20-17 on Adam Vinatieri’s last-second field goal, capturing the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship.
But the game became about more than the Patriots’ victory. During U2’s halftime performance of “Where the Streets Have No Name,” the names of those killed in the September 11 attacks appeared on a massive screen behind the band before rising toward the roof of the stadium.
For millions watching across the country, it was another reminder that the sporting world had not forgotten the people whose lives had been taken. The Super Bowl had always been one of America’s biggest sporting events, but that night it also became a national stage for remembrance.
A Decade Later: A Nation Remembers – Nearly ten years after the attacks, another moment at a baseball stadium demonstrated how deeply September 11 remained embedded in the American sports landscape. On May 1, 2011, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies were playing at Citizens Bank Park when news began spreading through the stadium that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan.
As fans learned that the al-Qaeda leader responsible for the September 11 attacks was dead, chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” erupted throughout the ballpark. The players initially did not know why the crowd was chanting, but the significance of the news soon reached both dugouts.
The Mets eventually defeated the Phillies 2-1 in 14 innings, but the final score became secondary to what had unfolded in the stands. Nearly a decade after September 11, a baseball stadium once again became a place where Americans gathered around a moment that extended far beyond the game itself.
The scene was another reminder that the connection between sports and September 11 did not end in 2001. The tragedy had become part of the nation’s collective memory, and when a major moment connected to that history occurred, sports stadiums remained places where Americans could experience it together.
More Than a Game – The stories of September 11 demonstrate that sports can become something much larger than the competition taking place between the lines. A baseball home run, a football victory, a ceremonial first pitch or a halftime performance can become permanently connected to the history of a nation.
Welles Crowther’s red bandanna, Mike Piazza’s home run, Joe Andruzzi’s American flags, the Yankees’ World Series run and the names displayed during the Super Bowl all became symbols because of what they represented. They reminded Americans that even during moments of unimaginable darkness, people could still find ways to stand together.
Sports did not heal the country by themselves. They simply provided a place where people could gather, remember, grieve and eventually begin to move forward together.
Twenty-Five Years Later – Twenty-five years after September 11, a new generation is growing up without firsthand memories of the attacks. Many college athletes today were not alive when the towers fell, yet they continue to learn about that day through the stories of people who were there.
That is why these stories still matter. The Red Bandanna Game continues to introduce Welles Crowther to new generations, the Kings continue to honor Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis, and the images of Piazza, Andruzzi, the Yankees and the Patriots remain part of the sporting history surrounding September 11.
The games themselves lasted only hours, but the meaning attached to them has lasted for decades. They became reminders that sports can preserve memories, connect generations and bring people together when they need one another most.
Twenty-five years later, we remember the lives lost. We honor the heroes who stepped forward. And above all, we will never forget.
