I love the fall. Cool temperatures, leaves changing, and football! I have been a USC Trojan football fan for as long as I can remember. Through winning seasons, losing seasons, phenomenal athletes, struggling athletes, great coaches, not so great coaches, even after we moved to the east coast my entire schedule revolves around early games and super late games. I love me some Trojan football!
One of my favorite memories was several years ago, while we were tailgating before one of our biggest rival games. We got to the Coliseum in downtown Los Angeles around 5:30am to set up our tailgate. We met our friends and all of us unloaded our vehicles. You see, our tailgate ritual grew from a sub sandwich under a tree, to thirty plus Trojans fans, four easy-ups, three tv’s, a satellite dish, Corn hole, Ladder golf, chairs for all, snacks, BBQ, at least one potluck style meal, and several wagons to carry all these things to and from our vehicles. We would arrive around 5:30am to get set up before ‘Game Day’, that started at 6am on the west coast. This was a huge game for us, so Game Day was outside the coliseum, not far from our tailgate. I made a sign for my husband to wave over the shoulder of Kirk Herbstreit. We attached it to a ten-foot PVC pipe so that he could make sure our sign was seen. The sign had no words, I had just painted a Trojan football player dangling a little leprechaun by his feet. After having a great time at Game Day, and getting a ton of texts from friends and family saying they saw our sign on TV, we headed back to our tailgate, and attached the sign to the leg of one of our easy-ups. As we sat watching the first games of the day on our TVs, a couple large gentlemen dressed in black wondered into our tented tailgate area. They began asking a ton of questions about our setup, and how our TVs were working so well. After asking and answering some questions, the men invited my husband and his friend over to their tailgate to help them set up their TV. The guys all left and seemed to be gone for quite some time. When they returned, they were joined by a few more gentleman. My husband and his friend were unable to get the other party’s TV working, so they had invited the group over to our tent to watch the games. This group consisted of six or seven of the rival’s fans, but there was a gentleman that everyone in the group was paying a lot of attention to. They made sure he had the best seat in the house and that people were giving him some space. I asked my husband what was going on… we were used to opening our tailgate to others, I didn’t know if there was something wrong with the poor guy, or what. When I asked my husband what was going on, he asked me if I recognized our special guest. I told him no and asked if I should. My husband pointed to the sign I had painted, and said ‘We’re playing Notre Dame, and this is Rudy.’ As we sat in front LA Coliseum, I asked if he was the actor that played Rudy in the movie, or was he the real deal. It was THE one and only Rudy Ruetigger. We tried to give him some space as he watched the games on TV and enjoyed our snacks and drinks. When my daughter-in-law found out THE Rudy was there, she jumped on her phone to call her Southern Baptist preacher dad, who preached a sermon involving Rudy every fall. Needless to say… he was a huge fan. Once my daughter-in-law got her dad on the phone, she rushed over to Rudy, shoved her phone at him, and proceeded to explain she had one of his biggest fans on the phone. I thought Rudy’s bodyguards were going to physically remove her from our tailgate. Rudy put up his hand, stopped his interrogee and gently took the phone and kindly introduced himself to the fan on the phone. We all had a great laugh. Rudy was kind, authentic, and sweet on the phone. After hanging up, we spent the rest of our tailgate time listening to Rudy tell us stories as we all kept an eye on the games going on in the background. We all got a kick out of seeing Rudy in our tailgate, then seeing him walk around on the sidelines during the game.
No matter who you are, a football fan or not, young or old, we can all learn something from Rudy. Rudy had a dream. He wanted to play football for Notre Dame. Although there are many things we can learn from Rudy’s story, the biggest lesson we can learn from Rudy Ruetigger is that he was a patient man. He waited… and waited… and waited. He didn’t throw a fit and quit the team because he didn’t play, much less start for his favorite football team and his favorite school. Yet, when the time was right, Rudy, supported by his team, went in for the last play, and made the final tackle in his final game, being carried off the field by his teammates and cheered by everyone in the stands. He gained the respect of his team, way before he got to make that famous play. As we pray and wait on the Lord to show us how He will answer our payers, we need to be patient. Rudy never dreamed that his teammates would insist on him playing, that he would actually get in the game, and make the final tackle of the game.
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not grow faint.” Isaiah 40:31
That day, when the USC Trojans beat the Irish, we had the best time getting to know this kind, patient, humble man. In all the amazing stories that Rudy shared with us, his humble heart and his patient spirit out shined the exciting last-minute win our team got that day. Although Notre Dame was one of our biggest rivals, we sat under that sign, with a Trojan dangling a leprechaun, laughing and enjoying the company of one of our now favorite football players.
