‘Rudy’ story continues to inspire people Ruettiger speaks to Hampden students

HAMPDEN – Leave it to a fellow “Golden Domer” to accomplish the nearly impossible task of outshining a golden boy.

Rudy Ruettiger still grins widely when relating the tale.

It was just three years ago when Ruettiger, the same Rudy whose life and inspirational journey to the campus of the University of Notre Dame became the subject and title of a 1993 motion picture, was attending his 25th-year reunion in South Bend, Ind.

It just so happened that NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, who played with Ruettiger and graduated two years after him in 1978, was also in attendance.

“Here’s this guy with four Super Bowl rings walking around and someone says ‘Wow, look at the crowd following Rudy,'” Ruettiger said with a laugh. “Somebody asked why Joe didn’t have a big crowd following him and some kid said ‘Nobody made a movie about him, did they?'”

Now almost 29 years removed from achieving his lifelong dream and playing in a game for the Fighting Irish football team, the 56-year-old Ruettiger is one of the more requested motivational speakers in the country, earning up to $17,500 per appearance.

Thanks to the Lafayette family, whose son Ramsey is a senior on the Broncos football team, Ruettiger was brought to Hampden Academy to address the student body at a 9 a.m. Friday assembly in the gym and hold informal question-and-answer sessions with varsity team captains and football team members afterward.

“These kids were great here today,” said Ruettiger, who was clearly impressed by the civility and attention the students game him during his presentation. “Some eighth-grade kid came up to me and said ‘You changed my life.’ Think about that. That’s profound.”

Ruettiger has had a lot of profound moments in his life. The third-oldest of 14 children, he grew up in Joliet, Ill. He took a job at a power plant and served in the U.S. Navy before eventually following a longtime dream and getting accepted into Notre Dame as a 24-year-old freshman.

The death of a close friend after an industrial accident at the plant inspired Ruettiger to enroll at Holy Cross Junior College and work as a groundskeeper at Knute Rockne Stadium. While at Holy Cross, Ruettiger applied to Notre Dame during his first three semesters but was rejected until finally being accepted on his fourth and final try. He then eventually won a spot on the Notre Dame scout team.

Two years of scout team toil later, Rudy was finally allowed to dress for a home game and sent onto the field for the last play of the team’s final home game. He sacked the Georgia Tech quarterback in his only varsity play and was carried off the field on teammates’ shoulders after time ran out. He is still the only Notre Dame player to receive that honor.

Ruettiger’s main message to the Hampden students was to always pursue their dreams by associating themselves with positive influences and people while disassociating themselves from negative influences. He told them to combine character, courage, commitment, and contribution to realize their dreams; and that doing the little things in life – like making your bed – the right way can lead to big rewards.

“The thing I remember most is the making the bed thing and how little things can lead up to big things,” said 15-year-old freshman Michael Scott, a Hampden resident. “That made an impression.”

“The thing I take from it is to never give up on your dreams,” said freshman Jonathan Stover, 14, of Hampden.

The movie did more than make Ruettiger a household name. It helped him free up more of his time to spend with his wife, 5-year-old daughter, and 2-year-old son after 10 years spent selling insurance and real estate or owning janitorial or real estate companies.

“I’d never heard of him until a few days ago when people asked if I was gonna see the movie,” said Stover. “Now I’m most definitely going to see it.”

When Ruettiger asked students how many had seen the movie, about 70 percent of the students assembled raised their hands.

“I’d heard of the movie but never seen him. I knew he was a football player trying to get into Notre Dame,” said Scott. “Now I wish I’d seen it, but I’m going to rent it. Now that we’ve seen the real guy, I think the movie will mean more.”

The movie took license with the truth on more than one occasion, as Hollywood productions are known to do, but the general story was unchanged.

“It was more about the message than what we did with the characters and that’s what everybody understood,” said Ruettiger, who also consults with a Texas A&M leadership research and development team.

A few lesser-known facts about the 1993 movie: It took Ruettiger 10 years to get the film made after many studios and producers rejected it. Ruettiger appears in the film as a fan during the Georgia Tech game sitting behind Ned Beatty, who played Ruettiger’s father. Chris O’Donnell was in the running to play Ruettiger before the studio finally settled on Sean Astin. Notre Dame coach Dan Devine was not really the cold-hearted guy he was portrayed to be in the movie and was, in fact, the one whose idea it was for Ruettiger to dress for the game and eventually play. The main inspiration for Ruettiger in getting the idea for the movie and persistently pitching it to studios was the movie “Rocky.”

One other tidbit from the Rudy bragging rights file: A ticket stub from that Nov. 8, 1975, game in which Ruettiger played, signed by him, drew a $237 auction bid three months ago. Montana’s 1981 Topps rookie card is drawing eBay bids ranging from $20 to $200. Maybe Montana does need a movie deal.