# When the GameDay crew includes 9/11 first responders

> ESPN's loudest Saturday morning show stopped the noise to salute three of its own who were NYPD on September 11.
- Title: When the GameDay crew includes 9/11 first responders
- Summary: ESPN's loudest Saturday morning show stopped the noise to salute three of its own who were NYPD on September 11. The people who ran toward the towers are…
- Keywords: 9/11, college gameday, espn, first responders, nypd, sports, GameDay, crew, includes, first, responders, CFB-HQ On SI
- Source: CFB-HQ On SI — https://si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/news/college-gameday-honors-its-own-in-moving-9-11-tribute-25-years-later
- Published: 2026-09-12T15:19:01+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: 9/11, college gameday, espn, first responders, nypd, sports
## A fun show goes quiet
College GameDay is built on banter, picks and mascot heads. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the show set that aside for a few minutes.
## Where the responders went
After the attacks on the World Trade Center, first responders spent months saving lives and clearing the site. Then they went on to ordinary jobs, including this one.
## Three of their own
Host Rece Davis pointed to three GameDay staff members who worked the 9/11 response as members of the New York City Police Department.
## Davis, voice cracking
Davis called it a privilege to work alongside them, and said they risked everything that day with no thought for themselves.

> They risked so much that day to bring unity to the country, to save people, without regard to their own safety.
## Never forget, said plainly
He closed with the slogan that has carried 25 years, and a promise attached to it: the show would not let the day fade.

> The slogan has always been 'Never forget.' And we won't.
## Part of a bigger week
The tribute was one piece of ESPN's 9/11 programming across the anniversary, spread over multiple broadcasts and games.
## The Man in the Red Bandana
Friday's Boston College vs Rutgers game honored BC alum Welles Crowther, who guided injured survivors out of the South Tower before it collapsed with him inside.
## A medal, awarded too late
Crowther received the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously, recognition for a rescue effort nobody asked him to make.
## Ordinary heroes, ordinary Saturday
Guest pickers and arguments about college football legislation still filled the rest of the show. Three men who once ran toward the towers helped put it on air.
## Key takeaway

The people who ran toward the towers are still among us, often in rooms where nobody would think to look for them.