If you’re watching the Texas Longhorns‘ opening game against the Ohio State Buckeyes today, you may notice something different about the Texas football team’s helmets.
The helmets have a new sticker featuring a beautiful green ribbon over the state of Texas. These bow decals have been specially created to honor the victims of a recent heartbreaking tragedy that happened not too far from Austin, Texas.
The Green Bow Stickers Are in Remembrance of the Texas Flood Victims
In an X post on August 28, the official Texas Football account shared close-up photos of the new decals on the players’ helmets and wrote, “A green ribbon in memory of those lost and impacted by this summer’s devastating floods. #TexasStrong”
The special sticker features the state of Texas with a green bow fully enclosing the state from west to east.
In the replies on X, fans applauded the University of Texas for remembering the flood victims.
“Great symbol of love for the individuals that lost their lives and everything affected by this tragedy,” one person wrote.
“RIP to those lost. And prayers up for everyone who lost everything,” another person wrote.
A video shared earlier the same day featured numerous Texas universities adding the decals to their helmets.
Among the universities whose players will have these decals are TCU, Texas State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, SMU, Baylor, UTSA, UNT, Houston, UTEP, Rice, HCU, Lamar University, Tarleton State, SFA, East Texas A&M, and more.
During SEC Media Days in July, Longhorns safety Michael Taaffe honored the victims by wearing a tie with the initials of every person who died at Camp Mystic.
At Least 138 People Died in the Texas Floods
At least 138 people died in the Texas Hill Country floods on July 4 weekend, making it the largest death toll in a U.S. flash flood in almost 49 years.
The deaths included more than 35 children, many who were attending camps near the banks of the Guadalupe River. At Camp Mystic alone, 27 campers and counselors lost their lives.
Many survivors of the flood are struggling to put their lives back together. The average FEMA payment for a flooding disaster is about $8,000, which is not enough to recover damages from a home destroyed by the disaster.
Madison Sloan, the director of the Disaster Recovery and Fair Housing Project at Texas, told CNN: “FEMA assistance is not intended to fully repair the home, it’s intended to repair it so the home is safe to live in. FEMA assistance can be hard to access and FEMA routinely sends denial letters. If you’ve just been through a disaster and you get a denial letter, that’s a huge burden.”
FEMA assistance is also capped at $43,600, Sloan said.
And while there is a National Flood Insurance Program for homeowners and renters to get more comprehensive coverage , many people may not have that insurance due to not knowing their own insurance didn’t cover disaster floods already, or not being able to afford it.
Why Do the Texas Longhorns’ Helmets Have Green Ribbon Decals?