The stands during Saturday’s football game against Boston College will be colored black, gold and red.
University of Central Florida fans will show their support for former Boston College lacrosse player Welles Crowther by wearing red bandanas on Saturday when the Knights face off against the Eagles at 8 p.m. at Bright House Networks Stadium.
Crowther died while leading people to safety during the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. He used a red bandana to cover his mouth and nose while he re-entered the burning building three times to rescue survivors.
Two UCF students, Garrett Weiss and Neal Surrena, became inspired to start the red-bandana movement after watching an episode of the ESPN program “Outside the Lines” that featured Crowther’s story. Weiss and Surrena started a Facebook page promoting Crowther’s story and encouraging fans to wear a red bandana to the game.
The page has grown from 30 of their friends to more than 6,000 people pledging to wear a red bandana.
Red bandanas have been flying off store shelves throughout Central Florida, but fans can receive a free bandana by donating two canned food items to the Knights Helping Knights Pantry, a food and clothing pantry for UCF students.
The Student Union is distributing red bandanas to help make sure all fans are outfitted this Saturday. To obtain a red bandana, fans can bring their donations to the information desk on the first floor of the Student Union or to the All Knight Study lounge located near the UCF Arena. Bandanas will be available until the game or until the supply runs out.
Crowther’s sisters, Honor Fagan and Paige Crowther, will be attending the game on Saturday and will be honored by UCF Athletics.
“It gives me goose bumps to think about walking in the stadium and seeing everyone wearing the red bandanas” said Surrena, a freshman Journalism major. “I’m going to walk around during tailgating and personally thank the UCF and Boston College fans for supporting this cause.”
For infomation about other Sept. 11 rememberances planned for the Boston College game and also about Family Weekend activities, click here. Visit www.UCFGameDay.com for information about game day tickets, parking, traffic and more.