It was an absolutely gorgeous Friday here at ND with full sun, breeze and maybe 72 degrees with more of the same (or a bit cooler for kick-off).
It was a fairly quiet start to the day, though very common to see neighbor Mike Golic zipping around the complex in his customized ND golf cart. Earlier, he was directing a fully detailed “Miller Lite” Humvee promotional vehicle to his townhouse (presumably home delivery of some suds).
I rode my bike back over to Armando’s on the way to the gym to see if he needed any extra tickets (lots available). He said I missed Coach BK by about an hour and BK had pulled the switcheroo…called for a Thursday appointment and showed up on Friday morning. This is good to know for my next haircut Stanford weekend when I hope to offer BK some observations for his team after his first three games.
Armando noted that long-time WNDU Sports Director Jeff Jeffers was in the hospital after suffering a stroke. Several of the ND coaches had wanted to visit him but were denied (sounds serious).
While missing BK, I did have the opportunity to meet an extremely impressive young man—All-American TE Kyle Rudolph. I had actually met his Dad and Uncle two years ago in a sports bar in Fenway Park on Friday before the BC game. We were at adjacent tables and hung for over an hour since it was pouring rain. He had some good recruiting stories including how they almost chose Tennessee, but Charlie Weis was so sincere and persuasive that he would commit to featuring young Kyle in his offense.
Kyle stood like a soldier and was very much, “Yes sir; thank you sir…” When we shook hands, his paw was bigger than my foot (for real). I asked him if there was a significant difference between CW and BK and he was respectful and direct that BK is an accomplished college head coach. This is not just an All-American football player…this is an All-American boy.
Wide Receivers Coach Tony Alford also came in. After acknowledging that we had seen each other just 12 hours previously at Rocco’s, I asked him how things were. He stated that the pizza was great…when I was actually asking about the team. He said that the team is anxious and ready.
Maureen got into the act a little later. While running around the lakes, she stopped to say hello to a walking Fr. Malloy at the “Rudy” bench in front of Moreau Seminary. She failed to ask my question of Monk… so what was he thinking when he hired Dr. Kevin White as A.D.?
The afternoon was spent with numerous trips to Martin’s and Belmont Beverage ensuring full tailgate provisions.
While I ordinarily do not attend, nor like, Pep Rallies—I had to see Coach K’s debut and even more so since it was hosted by Dillon Hall and the program Chairman was young P.J. Flynn (“Only a sophomore” and son of Big Pat). The lads and Officer Tim McCarthy of the Indiana State Patrol did a great job in the build-up to the enthusiastic introduction of BK and the 2010 Irish.
Coach K was extremely animated with waving arms and challenges to students and fans to voice their support for this team. He stated,
“I assure you that we will battle for 4 quarters and we expect the same from the fans—4 quarters of effort…I guarantee you that the Offense, Defense and Special Teams will EXECUTE to get ND back to its elite status (wild cheers)…I have the best coaches in college football…we will be an exciting team. And we will win for you!” (pulsating fervor from the crowd).
Then, he made two tradition-changing announcements:
1. after more than 75 years of the ND team charging out of the tunnel, the team would now enter onto the field coming down through the center of Section 31—with the students. He extolled the students to wake up an hour earlier, do their tailgating and be in their places in the stands to support their classmates and players.
2. gameday Captains would now be announced on Friday nights based upon their efforts during the week. The players and recipients were totally surprised and jazzed when BK announced the Captains for Purdue as Michael Floyd and Darrin Walls. Each was appreciative and enthusiastic in their follow-up remarks.
Once again, BK played the scene expertly. He owned the Pep Rally.
Need to build my tailgate at 6:00am. Nye Nye on the grind…I am outta here.
Abe
