Content provided in partnership with

The third degree with … Rudy Ruettiger

Sporting News, The, Oct 11, 2004

Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger loved baseball as a little kid; he was an avid Yankees fan. But he grew up dreaming about playing in a gold helmet, not pinstripes. "Notre Dame was part of the religion, part of Saturday afternoons," he says. "You'd go to church in my town as a kid (in Joliet, Ill.), and the first thing you'd hear from &e priest is the Notre Dame score."

Years of hustle and a tackle later, Rudy worked his way into Notre Dame history--and after a movie starring Sean Astin, into the hearts of Americans. Now he's helping write a book, The Rudy in You (due out in November), to encourage good sportsmanship in youth athletics. SPORTING NEWS' Jessica Daues got Rudy's take on the book, re-writing history and hobbits.

Most Popular Articles in Sports: The first family: Archie, Peyton and Eli are incredibly famous, immensely ...; The growing gap: driving distances are skyrocketing on the PGA Tour. So why ...; Which pistol caliber for self defense? Four different people come to four ...; Drag racing - National Hot Rod Association; The world's most popular .22: the Marlin Model 60 just keeps on ticking; More »

TSN: You've already got a movie, Why write a book about kids' sports?

RR: When you watch a sporting event with young kids, 5 years old, you see parents on the sidelines, yelling, "Score! Score!" But all the kids really are interested in is the treat after the game. They're 5 years old, for gosh sake. They shouldn't be worried about winning. I've seen it with my own kids--my daughter, Jessica, is 6--and it's sad. We're not there to teach kids how to win on the scoreboard but how to win at life.

TSN: So you make the tackle, the team carries you off of the field ... What happens next?

RR: Someone said to me in the locker room, "This kind of thing only happens in Hollywood, Rudy." I said, "You bet." So from about 1976 on, I started formulating scenes in my mind. After Notre Dame, I started selling insurance door-to-door. Then I started a cleaning company. I got sick of that, so I sold that and got back into insurance. I sat through national sales meetings and jotted ideas down for scenes. I spent from about 1982 until 1992 working with Notre Dame to make the movie.

TSN: The movie was based on real life. How much of the story is true?

RR: There are so many things you can't say; they only give you so many minutes. The journey is very on track; it's how the journey happened. Some of the details are different. The team giving up their jerseys so I could play, that never happened. But four seniors were willing to give up their uniforms, and the team wanted to see me dress. But it's hard to show that in 4 seconds.

TSN: Were any big pads of your life left out?

RR: I was in the Navy before Notre Dame, but we couldn't develop that because we didn't have time. But we kept the bag. If you'll notice, when Sean Astin arrives at Notre Dame in the movie, he's got a bag. That was my Navy bag. That was how the Navy was represented. I also boxed at Notre Dame. I was the Bengal Bouts champion, which is a student boxing tournament. It's a big deal there. I was the underdog. There was a guy 6-3 boxing me, and I was 5-6 1/2. The crowd chanted, "Rudy! Rudy!" And it just carried into the stadium. That's how everyone knew my name when they chanted for me during the game.

TSN: Who does Sean Astin play better, Rudy or Sam from Lord of the Rings?

RR: What you see in Rudy is Sean Astin. What you see in all these other movies was acting. He's absolutely passionate, a go getter, and swims against the stream. When you can touch an audience like you did in Rudy, you've done a great job.

The third degree with … Rudy Ruettiger

Sporting News, The, Oct 11, 2004

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Reference

Most Popular Articles in Sports

Most Popular Publications in Sports