COLLEGE STATION, Texas – To help bring awareness to the plight of the thousands of families impacted by Hurricane Harvey, the Texas A&M football team will wear a special helmet sticker when the Aggies take on UCLA in their season opener on Sunday.
More than half of the players on the Texas A&M football roster were directly affected by Hurricane Harvey. The helmet sticker features the outline of the state of Texas over the universal symbol for a hurricane. Over the affected Gulf Coast region is a red heart.
“It’s really a tough time,” Aggie head football coach Kevin Sumlin said. “Now that the pictures and the videos are coming out, I think the rest of the world understands what people in this region have known for the last three days. It’s something that hits home with us with the number of players from the Gulf Coast area, and from Houston in particular, on our team. It’s a tough time for the people of Houston and the Gulf Coast, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Sumlin used his platform in front of the assembled media at his weekly football press conference to encourage people to support the American Red Cross www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-harvey. Another way to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey is through http://bthoharvey.org/, which is a student-led effort that has the cooperation of over 150 Texas A&M student organizations. Their efforts include plans to raise money, relief items and to host a blood drive in conjunction with the Red Cross.
Spearheading the design of helmet sticker for the Aggies was Assistant Athletics Director for Equipment and Apparel Matt Watson.
“The thought process behind the decal was to symbolize and acknowledge what happened, as well as what we’re feeling in three images combined — the universal hurricane symbol, the outline of the State of Texas, and a heart. The heart is almost centered over Bryan/College Station and positioned to cover the majority of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Harvey. It is intended to show that Texas shares one heartbeat and those affected are in our hearts and that they are not alone.”
Texas A&M will open its 2017 football season against the UCLA Bruins at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sunday in the Rose Bowl Stadium.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics