Weekend Words – Fight, Fight for Old Notre Dame

We continue this week with our themes of belief in yourself and loyalty to your company and its leaders and employees. These are not the times for quick fixes or “change for the sake of change,” no matter how much we might want to take action. Showing loyalty in tough times will reap big rewards when (when, not if) things turn around.

Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is defined as poise in the face of adversity.” I’ve included an example of this below, involving Knute Rockne, the legendary Notre Dame football coach who led the Fighting Irish from 1918-1930.

Knute Rockne of Notre Dame had just suffered his worst loss ever, 27-0 to Army, in an away game. It was even more embarrassing because he had openly predicted Notre Dame’s victory. He snuck his team back to South Bend on the train, arriving at 4:00 AM hoping that no one would be at the station to witness their return. He was wrong. There were 10,000 fans waiting for him chanting, “Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame!” They put Rockne on their shoulders and carried him through the train station. He told them, “Put me down; I feel like a fool. We lost.” The fans replied, “We might have lost, coach, but we still have you.”

            The next day in the administration office the university president said, “Do we still have you, Rock? We can’t compete with the financial offers coming from other schools who want you. No one will blame you if you go; any man should better himself if he can. Rockne replied, “How can any man better himself when he has friends like mine. I’ll never leave Notre Dame.”

            Here is a guy who put loyalty and friendship and sense above the almighty dollar. He never left Notre Dame, coaching the Fighting Irish until his death in a plane crash in 1931.  

This week’s story was provided by Jerry Svec, who is an avid Notre Dame football fan. Jerry is also one of the true unsung heroes in our community. He has been a P.E. teacher in Montgomery County elementary schools for 42 years. He loves teaching, and frequently gives up his Saturdays to keep the school gym open for the kids to come and play.

Many of my readers are coaches of some sort. In honor of all of your efforts, we’ve included a link to the music video for Kenny Chesney’s new single “The Boys of Fall,” provided by Rod Lawrence of the JBG companies. Aside from being a big player in the redevelopment of the White Flint Metro area, Rod is another unsung hero as an annual football coach for his local little league football team.

The Boys of Fall video: http://blog.gactv.com/blog/2010/08/02/watch-kenny-chesneys-new-video-for-the-boys-of-fall/

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

-Ro