Rudy Ruettiger spoke at length to Westerville Central’s football team, before posing with them for photographs.
Against all odds on a gridiron in South Bend, Indiana, Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, in 27 seconds, carved his name into history books as perhaps the most famous graduate of the University of Notre Dame. The son of an oil refinery worker and the third of 14 children, Rudy rose from valleys of discouragement and despair to the pinnacles of success. Today, he is one of the most popular motivational speakers in the United States. And on February 26, out of the goodness of his heart, the beloved football hero dropped by Westerville Central High School to impart some very well received words of wisdom on members of the football team.
It took years of fierce determination to overcome obstacles and criticisms, yet Rudy achieved his first dream – to attend Notre Dame and play football for the fighting Irish. As fans cheered, “RU-DY, RU-DY,” he sacked the quarterback in the last 27 seconds of the only play in the only game of his college football career. In 1993, TRISTAR Productions immortalized his life story with the blockbuster film, Rudy, written and produced by Angelo Pizzo and David Anspaugh.
When he met with the football team at Central, Rudy told the young men to start dreaming about what they want to be – to develop an attitude of acceptance and love. When you do that, he said, people want to be around you. “That’s what teams do. Learn how to collaborate, help coach each other. Think positive and eliminate the naysayers.”
He went on to say that no one is entitled to anything and that life’s gifts have to be earned. “You have to get up after you’ve been knocked down. You can go through anything if you’re mentally tough. Each day you wake up, you have another shot. My story is simple,” he shared. “I just changed my attitude.”
Rudy concluded by telling the students to have faith, learn how to work through their issues, be a leader, and never quit. He also told them to make and keep good friends because “you can’t do this by yourself.”