9/11 hero Welles Crowther honored at Boston College Red Bandana Game
Sept. 11 holds special meaning for students at Boston College. For the first time ever, 25 years after the attacks, the football team's annual Red Bandana Game was held on 9/11 as Boston College hosted Rutgers Friday night.
The players wear uniforms with red bandanas in honor of BC alum Welles Crowther, who became a hero at the World Trade Center.
Crowther was a lacrosse player and graduate of the Boston College class of 1999. After school, he got a job in the South Tower and was on the 104th floor when the plane struck the building.
Crowther lost his life when the towers collapsed, but he is credited with getting up to 18 people out alive. Those he saved identified him as the "Man in the Red Bandana." Earlier this week, Crowther was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Trump.
"I'm sure he would have loved it," Welles' mother, Alison Crowther, said before the game at Alumni Stadium. "It was a very quiet and somber morning, but to come here, I was so happy to think about coming up here with all the love and the joy and positive feeling. It's really what I focus on."
Crowther said her son grew up carrying a red bandana everywhere he went. It was a gift from his father. Now, it's a symbol of his selfless actions.
The annual Red Bandana Game has become a highlight of the BC football season. The players' names are replaced with "For Welles" and there are the signs and tributes. Boston College won the game, beating Rutgers 28-21.
The Crowthers were honored during the game, with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey presenting a proclamation. The fans waved their bandanas as a thank you for his sacrifice.
Mary Newman and Rebecca Macchia graduated with Welles in 1999. "We were all just remembering what happened that day and what we mean to each other," said Newman.
This game was healing for them. "I think it's bittersweet. I mean, there's obviously a lot of gravity associated with today, but to Mary's point, it's also a celebration of life," Macchia said.
Current Boston College students weren't even alive in 2001. This game serves as a reminder of the meaning of this day and how everything changed.
"I'm grateful it didn't happen in my lifetime, and I don't have to experience things like that. I feel awful for the families that did," said Braydon Barski, a BC fan.
And as Boston College honored Welles' heroics, his mother sent a message.
"I would like them to really think about the power they have within each and every one of them to bring good into the world and that's what we need a lot of now," Alison Crowther said.
