Coach Lou Holtz
filed in Media: Books & Lit., Sports on Aug.25, 2006
When I met Kate in 1993 I was a die-hard Penn State football fan. Blue and White. Joe Paterno. Nittany Lions. All the way. Well, once we got serious that was all going to change. Her family, you see, were slightly fanatical Notre Dame football fans. Honestly, it was pretty scary the first time I was over her grandmother’s house during a big game. Well, over the last 12+ years they have converted me over to their side. The leader of the Irish back then was coach Lou Holtz. He was an icon. He was near-worshipped for his brilliant coaching tactics and loved for his endearing nature. He left the Notre Dame sideline in ’96 to a slower pace coaching in South Carolina.
He is now officially retired from coaching football and has written his autobiography, entitled: Wins, Losses, and Lessons: An Autobiography. Along with a fancy new book comes a fancy book-signing tour. I caught wind at work that Lou would be signing copies of his book not too far from work on Tuesday night, so I let Kate know and we met in line after I got off work.
There he was, the great Lou Holtz, smile from ear to ear, wearing a gold ESPN polo shirt and signature eye-glasses. It seemed otherworldly to me to not see him at least wearing a ND hat (like on his book cover).
Coach was great. We talked and talked for hours… I laughed at his jokes, he laughed at mine, we swapped stories…. ok, none of that happened. We just waited in line for 2 hours (1 hour outside and 1 hour inside) and then got ushered through the line, past Lou for a handshake, quick photo and a signature and then *poof* we were back outside. It was still worth the time to meet one of the legends of college football and easily one of the greatest coaches of the 20th century.
I’ll leave you with a few of Lou’s quotes that we are enjoying from his book:
When I die and people realize that I will not be resurrected in three days, they will forget me. That is the way it should be. For reasons known only to God, I was asked to write an autobiography. Most people who knew me growing up didn’t think I would ever read a book, let alone write one.
Coaching gives one a chance to be successful as well as significant. The difference between those two is that when you die, your success comes to an end. When you are significant, you continue to help others be successful long after you are gone. Significance lasts many lifetimes. That is why people teach, why people lead, and why people coach. As I leave the field of play, I enjoy the feeling of being a winning coach. But more important, I hope that I have been a person of significance in the lives of these young men.
August 26th, 2006 on 6:45 pm
UGH, the Irish. I was a Fresh and Soph at A&M and both years we went to the Cotton Bowl. And both years we played ND. And both years we lost. In 1993, Bettis ran all over our poor defense and we got hammered. In ’94, we put up a good fight and had the ball driving down the field when the clock expired. We lost by a fieldgoal. Broke my heart. So I’m not so big a fan of ND. But, you didn’t really ask, did you? Huge expectaions this year in South Bend. A lot of weight on that little QB of theirs.
Did a word cloud. Go check it out.
August 27th, 2006 on 2:00 pm
First of all Kenny, you were converted to ND within a year – don’t deny it. (Within 2 months of us dating, you had a ND hat and t-shirt…and I made sure you wore them =)
Second of all, this book is fantastic. It’s a quick read and actually much more deep and philopsophical than I expected. I’m almost done with the book and the two most striking things to me about Lou Holtz is how strongly his faith has shaped his actions/lifestyle/committments and how he seems like a true gentleman. He doesn’t write an unkind word about anyone – even about people or actions that he disagrees with – he writes honestly, but kindly. I highly recommend the book. Now I wish I met him after reading the book so I could say something about it to him.
Third of all, reading this book made “Invincible” suck on every level.
Fourth, GO IRISH!
August 28th, 2006 on 9:50 am
As a hard core Penn State fan, I can’t believe that anyone would cross over to the dark side to watch a team that has been sponsored by an entire network TV channel. My family usually goes out of its way to avoid watching ND unless they happen to be cleaning up on PSU. Living in Texas makes it hard to catch many Penn State games, but I have been pretty good at finding them on some online radio stations. I implore you, on behalf of JoePa and the wonderful people of Happy Valley, to return to the blue and white. Return to the world of simple uniforms, team focused football, and the best college football coach to wear cleats with dress pants each game (not to mention a pretty good track record). State College, PA awaits your penitent confession and offers you absolution in advance.
By the way, I think that photo of you guys and Holtz is greatness.
August 29th, 2006 on 6:04 am
Kenny has to admit there’s been more attention paid to PSU now that my cousin graduated from and my sister now attends there. However, there’s NO doubt who my family will be rooting for this season, no matter who goes to PSU.
To address the uniforms: ND’s are pretty simple other than the gold helmets – and we also don’t have names on the jerseys. And it is team focused football, it’s the media that plays up quarterbacks or running backs or whoever is popular at the time. If you read Lou’s book, you’ll be impressed with how team focused he was – and I have no doubt Weis is the same in that vein.
I don’t know enough about Joe Paterno to comment – other than everyone I’ve ever heard talk about him recently has admitted it has been his time to go – and that he most likely isn’t doing any real coaching anymore; he’s just the “face” of PSU football.
But, like I said, I’ll probably be watching more PSU games this year than I ever have.
August 29th, 2006 on 7:52 pm
kate-my response was mostly in jest; I actually respect ND (aside from the NBC deal, which I think is hogwash). I’m jealous that you guys even have a chance to watch PSU on TV. I see a 20 second highlight on ESPN.com after the game. Even if Paterno is only the face of PSU football, it’s pretty great that he’s been going for 41 years. I just hope that he can go out with respect (last year would have been a good time to hang up the cleats I think). Enjoy the season!