Hawaii made amazing football helmets amid Hurricane Lane

Here’s a cool gesture by the Rainbow Warriors.

On Saturday, the University of Hawaii was one of a handful of teams to kick off college football’s regular season. The Rainbow Warriors did that far from home, in Fort Collins, Colo., against the Colorado State rams. And UH brought special helmets as a tribute to the islands, which have been dealing with heavy rain and winds associated with Hurricane Lane:

A map cutout of a state is a tremendous idea for a helmet design, and not one college football programs think of often. There’s no more appropriate time than now.

For reference, Hawaii’s usual helmet looks something like this:

The Rainbow Warriors are the whole reason college football even has a Week 0 — the slate of games the Saturday before the Saturday before Labor Day. Teams are allowed to start earlier and play a 13th regular season game if they play at Hawaii, and their Week 0 opponents are allowed to bump forward, too.

Here’s to a safe return home for Nick Rolovich’s team and safety for everyone on the islands now.