The University of Notre Dame. What is the first thought that comes to mind? Academics, Private School, Research, Service, Catholicism, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, Ireland, Leprechauns?
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No, it is FOOTBALL … at least it is top of mind. Maybe it was Knute Rockne, the Four Horsemen, the Gipper, National Championships, Heisman Trophy Winners, or even the cinematic classic that is Rudy. One way or another, for better or for worse, Notre Dame Football comes to mind. It could almost be said when you think of college football, you think of Notre Dame.
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"Notre Dame Football." The thought alone can send waves of emotion through your body. Those three words evoke feelings of tradition, excellence, values, history, family, friends, God, tailgates, and Saturday afternoons in the fall. The start of a new football season unites individuals spread across the world for one massive family reunion, both figuratively and literally.
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Whether you are watching from the comfort of your own home, or your favorite bar down the street, you are reconnected with a sense of belonging, family, and friends. If you make the trek to cheer on your team in the stands, either to a home game or away, you are rejoined by people you have not seen or contemplated in years: old roommates, classmates, teammates, professors, staff members, priests, monks, etc. Regardless of where you watch your team, you will meet new friends who immediately become family simply because of the bond that is Notre Dame and Notre Dame Football.
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During all the fun and excitement created by a football weekend, have you ever taken a moment to think about what the players go through? Have you wondered what their week, their weekend, or their gameday is like? Most likely not. Or, if so, the thought was fleeting and dissipated as quickly as it appeared.
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While loyal fans are having the time of their lives, the players are doing what they always do, preparing. For a player, it does not matter what day of the week it is or what time of year; they are constantly doing whatever it takes to get themselves ready for gameday.
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Under the stadium, in the locker room, pregame rituals are afoot. Some players sit in their locker with headphones on, as they gather their thoughts with a towel covering their head. Some will take a quick nap on the floor to bring serenity to a chaotic day. Some shoot the breeze with teammates, trainers, or team managers. A few will grasp a special picture that reminds them of who they are or why they are here. Some listen to music while singing and dancing. And a couple players visit every single teammate to shake their hand or give them a fist bump, almost saying to their brothers, "I have your back, we got this." Without fail, these routines take place before every game. These small, but distinctly meaningful, moments occur prior to kickoff.
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Now, imagine an entire college career of four or five or even six years for a single player. What other moments take place during the week or year that you, the fans, have no idea are taking place? What are the compounding and competing events that result in the fully realized, finished product seen on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?
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All students have a lot on their plate: from the normal family and relationship issues, to navigating their way through college, and juggling the stressful academic standards of an institution like Notre Dame. These pressures alone are plenty for any college student to manage. College life in general can quickly become overwhelming.
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Now, add to the equation the rigorous demands of a big-time Division One college football program that requires almost as many hours as a full-time job. There is no "after the show special" or a "behind the scenes" of these players' lives. You do not know how they ended up at Notre Dame or what they expected when they got there, or how their journey at the university affected them. There are ups-and-downs you do not see, unless observed on a gameday. You do not see the pains they go through daily, the early morning workouts, the sacrifices, or the enormous amount of time singularly devoted to football.
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Compile everything described within this introduction into a cartoon flipbook in your mind. Add to that flipbook your various college-life elements and events which appeared to you while reading. As you flip through the book you have created, see how the story changes with each page passing by your thumb. Take note of how the story develops as adjustments are made in the lives of your characters. See how the slightest alteration to your drawing changes the story.
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Make one small adjustment — change a teacher, change a roommate, add a bad decision, add heartbreak, add an injury, add a surgery, add a setback of any size — and the entire storyline could unravel before it even starts. See how the life you created on paper, or in your mind, is affected by the previous drawing and how the next drawing will change due to present events. As your story unfolds, the stickiness of life holds a few pages together, creating an unexpected entanglement of uncertainty. You scramble to sort through the new chaos. What happened? How did I get here? Why did this happen to me? How much doubt has slithered its way into your mind? How cloudy has your future become? Where do you flip to next? How do you even continue?
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When a student-athlete attends a university of Notre Dame's caliber, they are expecting consistency and some semblance of normalcy. They are expecting the flipbook that is their life to remain on track, with negligible drama and small course corrections. Twenty-two recruits in the 2001 recruiting class (eight who stayed with the team for five years) experienced anything but normalcy during their college football career.
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This is a "RISING thru every FALL."
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"D.L.Y.D." (Don't Let Yourself Down)
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"Learn to appreciate both the 'Good' & the 'Bad.'
Without one, you can never truly understand the other."
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"You have the ability, simply remember your courage."
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— Matt Shelton
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