Shut Up Joe!

"You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have nearly a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football team in the land for 2 years. And you're getting a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself." ~ My favorite line from the movie, Rudy

One of my favorite movies of all-time is Rudy. I think a lot of people would say the same thing. In fact, I'm taking a bucket list trip this fall to check off a dream I've had since I was five years old and first saw that movie. At the same time, I've always liked Joe Montana. He played at Notre Dame (which automatically means I like him based on that alone!). He was a great NFL quarterback. He's in the Hall of Fame.

Well.....today, I am no longer impressed. This week, Joe Montana came out bashing on Rudy. Now, in case you live under a rock and haven't seen the movie Rudy, which is hands down one of the best movies of all time, get your butt to the movie store and rent it RIGHT NOW!

The movie is based on the true story of Rudy Ruettiger. He had always dreamed of playing football for the Irish. He was small--like really small, and not very fast, and only mildly athletic. He didn't have the grades to get into Notre Dame. So he went to work at a steel plant with his father and brothers. After his friend was killed in the plant, Rudy decided it was time to follow his dreams. He packed up and headed for South Bend. He started at Holy Cross junior college, trying to get his grades up to get into Notre Dame. He applied three times and failed to get accepted. Then on his fourth, and final, try, he got in.

Then he tried out for the football team as a walk on. He was beat up and bleeding and bruised and exhausted, but he worked hard enough he got to stay. For the rest of his time at Notre Dame, he was on the practice squad, getting banged up every single week, but never seeing the field. His family didn't believe he was on the team, because they could never see him on tv on Saturdays. He cut a deal with the coach that he would be allowed to dress out for one game his senior year. Then that coach left. The new coach didn't care too much about the deal. The last game of the season, the other players volunteered to let Rudy have their spots. Rudy got to suit out, and got in on the last play of the game. He sacked the quarterback. He was carried off the field. No player has been carried off since that day in 1975.

Now, jerkface Joe Montana called Rudy out this week. He said that Rudy was more of a joke than an inspiration. He said that none of the players offered to turn in their jerseys. The crowd didn't really chant his name. And when they carried him off the field, they were just joking around. They said he didn't work any harder than anyone else and that he did not understand the hype.

Well thank goodness someone came to Rudy's defense. Another Rudy teammate, Jak Achterhoff says that the movie was 98% accurate. According to Achterhoff, "Rudy was carried off the field that day ... but not as a joke -- but because he finally got to play. You've never in your life seen a guy who wanted to be on the field more."
Seriously Joe?? Come on dude. Maybe it's a jealousy thing. At least one article has referred to Rudy as "Notre Dame's Most Famous Graduate." Probably Mr. Hall of Fame Joe Montana doesn't like that too much. And maybe Rudy didn't work harder than the other players on the team like Joe. But you know what? Rudy got NO credit for that hard work. He didn't run out of the tunnel every weekend. He didn't talk to reporters after the game. He kept his head down and worked hard becuase he wanted to be a part of Notre Dame football in any way that he could.

Now, of course there were Hollywood additions to the movie that didn't actually happen. It's a movie! But that doesn't make Rudy a joke. Far from it--I think Rudy is much more of an inspiration to people than Joe ever was.

Rudy's message about having dreams and following them and working hard and never giving up is far from a joke. Seems like this message would probably be more important and more inspirational to regular people than the fact that Joe Montana played pro football. Life doesn't always work out that way for everyone. In fact, it hardly works out that way for anyone. Hardly anyone makes it into the pros. For the rest of us, lessons about life from a regular guy who made his dream come true mean a lot more.

So shut your mouth Joe Montana. I'm not impressed. And I can assure you, when I go to see my first football game at Notre Dame this fall, I'll be thinking about how Rudy played in that stadium and not you. And that's not a joke either.