A Notre Dame Football Blog
A favorite recruiting phrase in ND Football is that becoming a member of the Fighting Irish isn't a four year decision, but a forty year decision. This isn't just a fancy quote to woe recruits, this is a reality. These are the stories of football alumni and their journey once they leave their home under the Dome.
And here is Part II of: From Football to Coffee Beans? Discovering the Secret of Life “1585689 Inmate West. In prison, they count you multiple times a day, so it doesn’t take long to memorize your number.” “The bus ride to prison was an awful ride. You’re handcuffed to another man, so if he needs to go to the bathroom, you go to the bathroom. You go everywhere together. It’s a 10 hour ride. It’s August, it’s hot and there is no air conditioning. It’s just like you see in the movies. Then, ...
Damon West: From Division I football to coffee beans?
Port Arthur, Texas. Have you ever heard of it? If you’re a fan of Notre Dame Football, you might have, as it is the home of one Christie Flanagan. Flanagan earned his spot in Fighting Irish lore by becoming Knute Rockne’s star halfback after the Four Horsemen departed. Here’s how the iconic Grantland Rice described him: “There was only one lone Horseman riding against the skyline of Fame when Notre Dame met the Army in their annual classic at Yankee Stadium this afternoon, but this time one ...
Photo: University of Notre Dame Archives
Billy Hackett was born in Boston, Mass., where he spent the first half of his childhood, and where his love of sports began. As a child, Billy’s life was all about sports. “My mom and dad were both coaches, and I played on the tennis and soccer teams. My dad coached the boys soccer team, and my mom coached the girls team. When I was going into middle school, my father decided he was ready to leave the financial industry in Boston and embark upon a new career, and so he relocated the family to ...
Braxston Banks
There are some people who you meet, who carry with them such a warmth, who always have a smile and an infectious laugh for you, and instantly become someone who changes you, who you’ll never forget. Braxston Banks was just such a person. You may have heard, the Notre Dame community has lost yet another one of its gentle warriors, Braxston Banks. Braxston was a star running back at the University of Notre Dame and played on the 1988 National Championship team. He had no idea that he had heart ...
Devon McDonald, president of SportsWorld Ministries, driving the mission to encourage positive choices while challenging today's youth with the message of hope.
This past Saturday night I had the great privilege of attending the 2017 SportsWorld Ministries Choose To Win Banquet in Indianapolis. The president is none other than former Notre Dame football player, Devon McDonald; and the keynote speaker this year was former Notre Dame football player, Jerome Bettis. We spent a delightful evening learning more about the ministries of SportsWorld, and the impressive impact that they are having on the youth of our country. I'd love to share with you the ...
Three generations…Papa Jack, Stephanie and tiny Raquel…
Strong of Heart, Profiles of Notre Dame Athletes (written by Randy Covitz, courtesy of Stephanie Snow Gebel) Jack snow’s daughter Stephanie pleaded and finally persuaded him to be in the birthing room when she was about to deliver her daughter Raquel. Tears filled Snow’s eyes when he held Raquel, his seventh grandchild, with the steady hands that caught 60 passes as an All-America wide receiver at Notre Dame in 1964 and 340 more passes and 45 touchdowns in an 11-year National Football League ...
Former Notre Dame wide receiver, Clint Johnson. (Photo: Orlando Sentinel)
On Thanksgiving evening, Clint Johnson, former University of Notre Dame wide receiver, was offered the head coaching position at Oak Ridge High School, in Orlando, Fla. Johnson takes over as head coach for Kenard Lang, who stepped down from his post on November 7th, due to chronic back problems following a 3-7 season. I had the chance to catch up with Clint Johnson last week to talk about his journey from pickup football games in Paducah, Kentucky, to a head coaching job in Orlando, Florida. ...
Unknown Date; South Bend, IN, USA; FILE PHOTO; Notre Dame Irish head coach Ara Parseghian on the sidelines with Terry Hanratty (5) at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Malcolm Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
Well, seeing as there is no ND defense to review this week, I thought I'd give you a sneak peek of (part of) one of the stories that is going to be in the second volume of "Echoes From the End Zone: The Men We Became." Today I'm going to give you a tad bit of Terry Hanratty's story. Hope you enjoy it! Where Are They Now? Terry Hanratty Terry Hanratty grew up in Butler, Pennsylvania; a steel mill community where the boys were raised big and strong and all of the top colleges were headed ...
(Photo: Matt Cashore / USPRESSWIRE)
Some kids instinctively know they are going to become a teacher, or a doctor, or a fire fighter; and some kids instinctively know they are going to one day play football at the University of Notre Dame. Tim O’Neill was one such kid. He dreamed of playing football at Notre Dame and all of the rituals that accompany the mystique that is Notre Dame … tapping the famous “Play Like A Champion Today” sign on the way out of the locker room, running out of the tunnel into Notre Dame stadium, and of ...
“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!“ (Excerpt from If, by Rudyard Kipling) When you grow up in Marshall, Michigan, you spend your time dreaming of the day ...