Today marks the 24th anniversary of the dreaded morning of 9/11, and the country reeling with loss. On Thursday morning, stadiums echoed not just with footsteps but with a shared heartbeat. Students, alumni, athletes, and the community came together with one purpose. To honor the lives lost and pay tribute to the departed. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder with quiet strength and unity in the remembrance of the first responders who gave their lives on 11 September 2001. Sports have always knitted the community together, and once again, they bridged the people together.

The annual 9/11 Stair Climb witnessed over 2,000 people on Thursday morning at the Death Valley to pay tribute to the victims. LSU Tigers wrote, “Today, we honor the memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11 #NeverForget. The climb through the bleachers of the Tiger Stadium is meant to honor the first responders who died saving multiple lives at Ground Zero.

“We all join up with the fraternities, just Campus Life at LSU, and we walk the stairs in the stadium in remembrance of all people that died and the firefighters,” one individual present at Tiger Valley told WBRZ.com. The Death Valley saw more people coming together to pay tribute to 9/11 than last year. “What’s most memorable to me is just the amount of people, all the bonding that you see, it’s a challenge that everybody can kind of group together and work on, and that’s where most bonding comes from,” he added.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers also paid their tribute on X with a post captioned, “Today and every day, we will always remember. 9.11.01.” Last year, before the Huskers went down the trenches for the Pinstrip Bowl against Boston College. The roster, accompanied by head coach Matt Rhule and athletic director Troy Dannen, visited the 9-11 Memorial to pay their tribute to the departed. Back in 2001, nine days after the deadly attack on the Twin Towers, the Nebraska community held their hands together and came forward to honor the victims, in ‘the Nebraska Way’. The program hosted a pre-game tribute through the fabled Tunnel Walk, ‘The Big Story: Tunnel Walk Tribute,’ that captured the essence of it.

College football rallies together to pay tribute to the 9/11 victims

The Mississippi State on X added, “Never forget. Nine days after 9/11 rocked the nation, Mississippi State hosted one of the most important football games in American history. We are honored to tell the story of the first major sporting event held in the U.S. after 9/11.” The MSU film documentary tells the story of one of the watershed moments in American history, when Sports united everyone, providing a momentary escape from the horrors of 9/11. It documents the on and off-turf sentiments during the 2001 SEC game between MSU and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. “At that particular time, it was bigger than all of us. And we were Americans,” said former Bulldog quarterback Wayne Madkin, per MS state.edu.

“Never forget,” dropped the Oklahoma Sooners on X, remembering the 9/11 victims. On Saturday, the OSU Community gathered at the Boone Pickens Stadium for the annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb to honor the valiant first responders who lost their lives inside the World Trade Center.

At 8:00 AM on Saturday, people wore full firefighter gear to honor the challenges faced by the responders. The community climbed an equivalent of 110 floors; the number paying tribute to the number of steps the responders took to save lives. Beginning in 2017, the tradition has become an integral part of the community.