ND Coaches’ Kickoff for Charity: Ara Parseghian

Continuing on with my recap of this very schweet night on Sunday, the first featured speaker of the night was Coach Parseghian.  He actually told me to call him "Ara" or "Coach".  I went with Coach. 

Coach Parseghian led ND to two National Championships during the Era of Ara from 1964-1974, and you could feel all of that coaching prowess, that leadership in the man when he walked by, and when he spoke. 

More than that though, you could tell this was a genuinely GOOD person.  You felt like it was that favorite uncle of yours, or your grandpa that used to hook you up with ice cream on the sly, talking to you and genuinely caring about you as an individual. 

Even though you just met. 

To say Ara was 'spry' would be unfair.  That implies energy despite age.  Ara is creeping up on his 9th decade, but this man exudes ENERGY.  He's been working hard for 12 years to fight Niemman-Pick Type C disease, and he has a lot of fight left in him.  And it was infectious. You just felt good being around him, and I can completely get why his players played so well for him, so often.  You WANTED to make this guy proud.  (Somehow, I got all this from ~5 minutes with the man personally.  Maybe it was the Bud?  Nah...)

Ara got up on stage and proceeded to tell the crowd a story about one of his most memorable visits to Southern California.  It was good, and funny, and I think worth my relaying it as best I can.  Though obviously I'm no reporter, so don't quote me here.

(Note: This picture is from the 2006 NYC event.  Mine just didnt turn out...but you can imagine it's pretty similar.)

It was 1964, the end of Ara's first season.  The team came out to USC undefeated, and went into half time up 17-0.  However, things shifted in the second half and USC came back to take the lead, 20-17.  ND drove down and scored, but the score was called back because of a penalty.  The Irish left the Coliseum with a heartbreaking loss, and that loss kept them from a National Championship.  It was a long, long ride back home that day, Ara said.  A long one.  And right afterwards, he had a school function/event.  Guess where it was?  Back in Southern California.  So he packed right back up and headed out West again.  From LA, where did he have to go, just a day or so later?  NYC.  So after the tough loss and the trip back to LA and the function, Ara is beat.  He hops on his plane and sits down in his window seat, just yearning for sleep.  He's completely exhausted. 

As he leans against the side of the plane to rest his eyes, a young boy comes over and asks for his autograph, which he provides no problem.  He settles back down and "Are you the head coach of Notre Dame???" the guy sitting next to him asks.  "Yes, I am."  "Oh wow!  Oh boy oh boy I love Notre Dame!  Notre Dame..."  This and That and That and This.   This is a passionate subway alum and he keeps Ara up for the entire 5-hour flight to Newark, talkety-talking and yappety-yapping.  Notre Dame this, ND that.  Ara stops downstairs to grab his bag.  As he waits, the same guy approaches "Oh, hey Coach, Notre Dame!!!!"  This and that and that and this.  Ara just wants some sleep at this point, badly, and heads down to the bus terminal to head into NYC proper, hoping to crash on the bus.  He takes his seat about midway back and guess who climbs on board?  The same guy.  "Coach!  ND blah blah blah..." and another two hours of his talking away.  Ara is gracious, but Ara is in desperate need of sleep.  Coach gets off in downtown Manhattan and needs to catch a cab to his hotel.   He's standing at the street corner and as is typical in New York, he can't BUY a cab.  No one is stopping, everyone around him is looking for a cab, competing for them.  "Coach!" He's back.  "What you looking for Coach?"  "I need a cab to my hotel."  "I gotcha Coach!!!"  This guy, the same guy, hails down a regular car that somehow stops, and he slips the driver $50.  "Hey, this is the head Coach of Notre Dame, will you take him to his hotel?"  The driver agrees, and Ara opens the door and turns to thank his talkative 'friend'.  But he's gone.

Ara looks around and sees him now...loading up his bags in the trunk of the same car then getting in the other side!   Ara hops in as well.  "Notre Dame, Coach, let's talk..."  blah blah blah.  Then a few minutes into the ride he leans forward and taps the driver on the shoulder.  "Hey pal, do you want to meet the head coach of Notre Dame football?" 

"Pal, meet Joe Kuharich."

Kuharich, obviously, was Ara's predecessor, and a less-successful one.  Ara delivered that story in a way I cannot come close to replicating in a post.  But it was money, and the punch line got the whole crowd.

Ara then spent some time talking about his Medical Research Foundation, and the work they do to try to fight Niemann-Pick Type C disease, which is the devastating disease that claimed the lives of three of his grandchildren, by age 11.  He invited his daughter up as well, who received a standing ovation, and she told us about her three children, their challenges, and what it meant to her to have such a generous and thoughtful Family there in the room that night to help them in their fight.   As Ara said, no one should out-live their children, and certainly not grandchildren either.  These kids didn't have much of a chance, and their family is fighting to give other kids like them just that. A chance.

Ara was a class act.  Happy to sign an autograph or take a picture.  Happy to sign one more item for auction to help out these worth causes. 

Please do visit his Medical Research Foundation to learn about the disease that Coach is fighting, and how you might be able to help.

Long live the Era of Ara.