GRANDVIEW — For one day at Grandview High School, what was old was new again.
University of Notre Dame legend Rudy Ruettiger made a special appearance at the school before the Zebras’ game against Aubrey to talk about inspirational topics such as pursuing dreams, standing up to bullies and emerging victorious through the struggles of life.
The assembly was made possible by Robert Stewart, Grandview Bank CEO.
Standing just 5 feet, 6 inches and weighing 165 pounds in college, Ruettiger’s story has been made famous by the 1994 movie “Rudy,” which tells the tale of the aspiring collegiate football player and his dreams of taking the field for the Irish.
Through 10 years of struggles both academic and physical, Ruettiger eventually made the team and dressed for the final game of his senior season. He played for 27 seconds, made one tackle and is the only Fighting Irish player in school history to be carried off the field.
During his one-and-a-half-hour-long speech on Friday, Ruettiger showed various inspirational movie clips and took questions from the crowd of students.
When one Grandview coach asked who Ruettiger’s favorite Fighting Irish football player was, the guest of honor drew laughs from the crowd with his response.
“Rudy Ruettiger! Hey!” he said.
Central to Ruettiger’s message was the importance of disregarding the naysayers in life and pursuing the positive input you receive along the way.
“When I was wanting to make my story into a movie, I had friends who would say, ‘Rudy! What are you doing? No one’s going to want that story,’” Ruettiger said. “I didn’t listen to them.”
Ruettiger added that in his desire to go to college, Notre Dame was his only option during the application process.
“There was no alternative,” he said. “I was either going to go to Notre Dame or I wasn’t going at all. I was going to make it.”
Ruettiger referenced his meetings with Los Angeles Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant and President Barack Obama as evidence that anyone can accomplish anything given they’re willing to put in the effort.
“My son and I got to meet Bryant before a game one time,” he said. “He ran over and told me I was the inspiration for his basketball career. And did I ever think I’d get to shake hands with the president?
“I’m not a celebrity. But people will respect you and want to hear your story when they see you’re inspired and passionate about where you’re going.”
An interesting anecdote to Ruettiger’s story was how he didn’t learn the fifth president of the United States until he was 45 years old.
In his early days of elementary school, Ruettiger said he considered the first five batters in the New York Yankees’ lineup more important than the first five presidents.
“I was at the White House to meet the president,” he said. “I saw all the pictures of past presidents. It was then that I memorized who the fifth one was. It was James Monroe.”
Grandview ISD
Related Photos
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Rudy Ruettiger, the former Notre Dame Fighting Irish football player depicted in the movie “Rudy,” spoke Friday at Grandview High School to an assembly of students, teachers and coaches about pursuing lifelong dreams. He showed several inspirational video clips and spoke about the dangers of bullying along with other topics. Zack Cunningham/Times-Review
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Luck of the Irish
For one day at Grandview High School, what was old was new again. University of Notre Dame legend Rudy Ruettiger made a special appearance at the school before the Zebras’ game against Aubrey to talk about inspirational topics such as pursuing dreams, standing up to bullies and emerging victorious through the struggles of life.
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