Boston College’s Red Bandana Game has been scheduled further and further away from 9/11 practically every year it’s been played: Sept. 13 in 2014, Sept. 18 in 2015, Oct. 7 in 2016, Oct. 27 in 2017, Oct. 26 in 2018, Nov. 9 in 2019 and Nov. 14 in 2020. But this year, the Eagles will be once again wearing their paisley-patterned uniforms during the month the tragedy occurred.
In fact, they’ll be wearing them on Saturday at UMass on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks—to recognize Welles Crowther, a BC lacrosse alum who died saving more than a dozen lives on 9/11.
“I mean we talk about Welles, and we talk all about the Red Bandana Game,” head coach Jeff Hafley said. “How could we not wear those jerseys on 9/11 on the 20th anniversary? It was a no-brainer. We’re gonna do that in honor of every single person who was affected by 9/11.”
BC will still play its official Red Bandana Game on Nov. 5 against Virginia Tech: a Friday night home game on ESPN2. The Eagles will simply wear their Red Bandana uniforms twice this year, starting with their Week 2 matchup in Amherst.
BC will be revealing its new Adidas Red Bandana threads on Friday. Last year, the Eagles rolled out all-white Under Armour Red Bandana uniforms. Except, after BC dropped UA and switched over to Adidas, a change to the Eagles’ alternate kit was on the way.
From the looks of the team’s Twitter account, it appears as if there won’t be a helmet stripe with the Red Bandana uniforms for the first time in the event’s now eight-year history.
Regardless of the uniforms’ intracices, their symbolism will remain the same. The red bandana represents sacrifice and heroism. It’s a story every BC student learns when they arrive on campus. Hafley said that he talks to the team about Crowther throughout the year, before 9/11 and ahead of the Red Bandana Game, and they even integrate “Red Bandana workouts,” which include intense stair runs, during the winter and summer.
Saturday marks the first time BC will get to wear the paisley on the anniversary Crowther gave up his life to rescue others. For wide receiver CJ Lewis, it’s a “a big honor.”
“9/11 was a tragic event, and I feel like this is a great way to honor him,” Lewis said. “Hopefully, we can put on a show for Welles, his family and everyone who’s tuning in this weekend.”
Center Alec Lindstrom noted that, in putting on those alternate uniforms, “you kinda feel something special.” He explained that Crowther’s red bandana and its significance extends beyond Chestnut Hill.
“We play for Welles,” Lindstrom said. “For the school and for the nation, too. To do something like that—it means a lot. And we take it very personal.”
There won’t be an ESPN broadcast or a primetime slot or a home crowd—although it might feel that way with hordes of alumni and family traveling to Amherst—yet Saturday will be the anniversary of not only 9/11 but also the day Crowther lived out BC’s motto, “men and women for others” in its truest form.
And BC isn’t passing up the opportunity to recognize that.
