In this week’s Sports Illustrated, the magazine looks at how devastating the recent spate of tornadoes was to Tuscaloosa, AL and what what University of Alabama athletics is doing to help the town recover. It’s not going to be an easy task, but the people are banding together in ways to bring the community closer and to help rebuild a proud town. We have a preview and a look at the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated issue.
Crimson Tide Athletes Help Heal a Community That Has Always Cheered Them On
Bid on Items in Sports Illustrated Alabama Relief Auction to Benefit the American Red Cross
(NEW YORK – May 17, 2011) – The cover story of this week’s May 23, 2011, issue of Sports Illustrated—on newsstands tomorrow—documents both the aftermath of the deadly tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Ala., on April 27 and how the Crimson Tide athletic community is helping in the relief effort. To download a hi-res JPEG of this week’s cover, click here.
When the most powerful tornado in the history of Alabama ripped through “T-Town” with winds of up to 190 mph, it caused damage that will take years to recover from. Senior writer Lars Anderson (@LarsAndersonSI), who lives in Birmingham and taught a sportswriting class at the University of Alabama this spring, spoke with several students and Tuscaloosa residents, each of whom has their own story from that tragic day. The outpouring of support from the Alabama athletic community has included but has not been limited to:
• More than $1 million in donations to the relief effort from the school’s athletic department.
• Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Javier Arenas, a member of the Crimson Tide’s 2009 national championship team, bought $1,600 worth of supplies and Tweeted that he would give it away outside of a mall.
• 15 members of Alabama’s baseball team helped a mother of one of the six students killed search the wreckage for a white dress that the mother wanted to bury her daughter in.
Says football coach Nick Saban: “We can create a psychological escape for the people of this town. They have a great passion for sports, and we’ll be there for them.”
Sports Illustrated is helping with the recovery effort with an Alabama relief auction to benefit the American Red Cross. Users can bid on items such as a dinner anywhere in the continental U.S. with Peter King, two tickets to the 2011 Sportsman of the Year Celebration in New York later this year, classic Crimson Tide cover reprints and custom print photographs of Joe Namath and Bear Bryant signed by legendary photographer Neil Leifer. To bid on an item, click here. Items will be open for bidding between now and 2-3 pm EST on May 25.
This will certainly be an emotional issue to read.
