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College GameDay Honors Its Own In Moving 9/11 Tribute 25 Years Later

The footprint of the heroic 9/11 response extended even to College GameDay.
Joe Cox|
College GameDay, as shown by Pat McAfee and Nick Saban, has plenty of fun banter, but also spotlighted a moment of American heroism this week.
College GameDay, as shown by Pat McAfee and Nick Saban, has plenty of fun banter, but also spotlighted a moment of American heroism this week. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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While ESPN's award-winning College GameDay show is generally all about fun and frivolity, on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, the show brought the heroism of America's first responders into the spotlight once again. After the attacks on the World Trade Centers, American first responders worked steadfastly and heroicly to save lives and protect others. With that mission accomplished, many of them ended up in a bevy of surprising other places-- like College GameDay.

College GameDay Spotlights Heroes Turned Staffers

During the pregame show, in a moving scene, host Rece Davis spotlighted a trio of College GameDay staff members who contributed to the 9/11 response as members of the New York City Police Department. In a voice thick with emotion, Davis paid tribute to the astonishing work of those heroes and others like them.

"What a privilege it is for us to have three of our teammates who were first reponsders from the New York City Police Department that day," said Davis. "They risked so much that day to bring unity to the country, to save people, without regard to their own safety.... like so many did. So many that are honored, a day after the 25 year anniversary of that terrible, terrible moment. The slogan has always been 'Never forget.' And we won't."

ESPN's 9/11 Programming Focus

The mention is only a tiny part of a lengthy list of 9/11-related programing which ESPN has featured a quarter-century form the historic American tragedy. Friday night, the network featured the Boston College/Rutgers football game and honored Boston College alum Welles Crowther, forever known as the "Man in the Red Banana" for his unusual apparel as he guided lost and injured survivors to safety before perishing himself in the collapse of the South Tower. Crowther has been posthumously honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his actions.

While College GameDay will still have many of the facets of a typical fun Saturday frolic-- guest pickers and a spirited discussion over the pending legislation in regard to college football being two of the more noteworthy moments-- on the anniversary of a red-letter date in American history, the show took time to look both back and ahead, to a trio of ordinary heroes-- men who served bravely and valiantly and now get to help fans everywhere embrace all the fun of mascot-head-wearing, celebrity-guest-picking Saturday morning college football.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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