Spring Break
Rudy continues to inspire
Onalee Carson
Issue date: 1/28/09 Section: News
On Thursday, January 22, the Rhodes community hosted one of the most well-known heroes of sports cinema-Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger. Easily considered one of the most inspirational sports stories, many of us have grown up with the image of the Rudy movie poster floating in our heads-and whether you are an athlete or not, have always wanted the occasion of being carried off the field by a group of teammates.
So when posters started popping up around campus with that sought after image and the words, "Come be inspired again," students' ears quickly perked up. But what did we really know about the "real" Rudy?
At the beginning, not much-after stepping on stage, Mr. Ruettiger even asked, "You know I'm Rudy right?" After all, he really didn't look anything like the Rudy we pictured. However by the end of his lecture, students-as the poster implied-were as inspired as they originally were with the movie. The only difference was that we were inspired by Rudy's real message, not just his story.
Rudy had a dream-a big dream-to play football for Notre Dame. But, as he put it: "People were telling me, 'You could never go there Rudy.' And they were right. I didn't have the grades to go to Notre Dame. I didn't have the SAT or ACT scores to go there. Nor the money or the athletic prowess to go there."
Eventually, as we all know from the movie, Rudy did make it to Notre Dame, became a walk-on for the football team, and on Nov. 8, 1975, his senior year, played a whole 27 seconds against Georgia Tech, recording a sack. Rudy made it.
"I waited 10 years to play 27 seconds," he said.
But you know he wouldn't trade those 10 years and 27 seconds for anything else.
Not only is Rudy's story a great model for those who want to follow their dreams, his lecture on Thursday night provided direct instructions on how to do so.
First off, Rudy mapped out how to dream big. "You already have it," he said. "It's in your imagination."
So when posters started popping up around campus with that sought after image and the words, "Come be inspired again," students' ears quickly perked up. But what did we really know about the "real" Rudy?
At the beginning, not much-after stepping on stage, Mr. Ruettiger even asked, "You know I'm Rudy right?" After all, he really didn't look anything like the Rudy we pictured. However by the end of his lecture, students-as the poster implied-were as inspired as they originally were with the movie. The only difference was that we were inspired by Rudy's real message, not just his story.
Rudy had a dream-a big dream-to play football for Notre Dame. But, as he put it: "People were telling me, 'You could never go there Rudy.' And they were right. I didn't have the grades to go to Notre Dame. I didn't have the SAT or ACT scores to go there. Nor the money or the athletic prowess to go there."
Eventually, as we all know from the movie, Rudy did make it to Notre Dame, became a walk-on for the football team, and on Nov. 8, 1975, his senior year, played a whole 27 seconds against Georgia Tech, recording a sack. Rudy made it.
"I waited 10 years to play 27 seconds," he said.
But you know he wouldn't trade those 10 years and 27 seconds for anything else.
Not only is Rudy's story a great model for those who want to follow their dreams, his lecture on Thursday night provided direct instructions on how to do so.
First off, Rudy mapped out how to dream big. "You already have it," he said. "It's in your imagination."
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