Sometimes it is biggerthan sports. Those are six simple words, but yet six powerful words when one takes a step back and deciphers them. After all, in times of adversity and hardship,sportstend to be a way to forget about those things and bring people (and a community) together. It's also the exact driving thought and mantra behind one ofFlorida softball'slongest-lasting traditions: Sunflowers placed in the back of each player's hair. REQUIRED READING:NCAA softball tournament bracket, TV schedule for college softball 2025 super regionals Before you ask the question, yes, it is common to see softball players wear something in their hair. So, how is Florida wearing a sunflower hair tie any different from that? Here's what to know, as the Gators continue theGainesville Super Regionalagainst Georgia on Saturday and look to punch their ticket to theWomen's College World Seriesfor the third time in the past four years: The overall story behind the connection of sunflowers and Florida softball dates back to 2009. It began with a two-fold approach: former Florida pitcher Francesca Enea being involved within the Florida community and Florida native Heather Braswell signing up for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation'sAdopt-A-Child program. Then came a call to Enea, who is now one of theGators' assistant coaches. "I got a random phone call and it was Friends of Jaclyn. They said they were so excited that we submitted a form because they have a girl in Orlando that they were ready to place with us,"Enea said in "Sunflowers,"a recent University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications documentary. "I was like, 'Oh I haven't even asked my coach yet.'" TheAdopt-A-Child programthrough the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation pairs kids who are dealing with pediatric brain tumors and/or other forms of childhood cancers with a high school or college sports team or club as an honorary team member. Heather was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008 at the age of 11. Florida coach Tim Walton mentioned in the documentary that he was initially concerned about the prospect of being involved with the organization, but was swayed by Enea's pitch and the positive impact it has on the team itself. "I was a little concerned. And the concern was that you're going to put all this time and energy into a young person. The hardest pill to swallow is that this person is suffering and what does that do to a sports team," Florida coach Tim Walton said. Y = Yellow | There's a reason why we wear 🌻🌻 in our hair on Saturdays and why once a year we wear Yellow.Pediatric cancer is a terrible disease, but the💛&💪shown by those affected helps remind us that there are things in this🌎bigger than🥎#GatorsABCspic.twitter.com/OJpTR3cLgC — Gators Softball (@GatorsSB)August 29, 2019 The match between Heather and the Gators soon became a close-knit relationship, as Heather soon became a staple around the team, while the team supported Heather during her cancer treatments. One way the team supported Heather was "blowing up" her phone with texts while she was at treatments, on top of putting Twizzlers in their caps during games, which Heather would bring with her to the stadium. An added "win" to the whole relationship between Heather and Florida softball was that Heather converted over to a Gators fan from a Florida State fan. Unfortunately, the tumor and cancer came back in the same spot in January 2014 after a five-year remission. She died on March 24, 2014, 10 weeks after the diagnosis that her cancer had become terminal. "When she passed away, we used yellow as a symbol of her," former Florida pitcher Lauren Haeger said in the documentary on how the sunflowers began. "We started wearing yellow ribbons in our hair. It kind of just transitioned to a sunflower because sunflowers are yellow." In a time of challenge and mourning, Heather's spirit stayed with the Gators that season, as they rallied together and went on to win their first national championship at the Women's College World Series. Terri Braswell was in Oklahoma City to watch Florida defeat Alabama in the 2014 Women's College World Series, the first of back-to-back national championship titles for the Gators. "It's hard for me to imagine that it was just like two months after Heather died. But there was really nowhere else I would have wanted to be," Terri Braswell said in the documentary. Wearing a sunflower in their hair isn't the only way the Gators have kept Heather's legacy and love for Florida softball alive, though. In the Gators' locker room at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, one of the lockers is designated for Heather and has her name engraved into it along with a "Team Heather" shirt hanging in it. Florida also hosts an annual "Yellow Game" every April, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, to raise money for pediatric cancer. "It was a really special time and I think that truly solidified the type of program that Florida softball was going to be from there on out," Haeger said. Florida softball players wear sunflowers in their hair on Saturdays during the season in honor of Heather Braswell. The team has given it the name of "Sunflower Saturday" over the years. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Why do Florida softball players have sunflowers in hair?
