The Spirit of Knute
The spirit of Knute Rockne is doing just fine.
The most influential essence in the history of football is still on the receiving end of every perfect forward pass. His heavenly hands still apply wet heat to every sprained ankle. His aura continues to hover over Notre Dame - and the game he built still played with the ball he shaped - like a pulsating heart. His voice still resonates throughout the locker room of the stadium he built and carries on into all walks and circles of life wherever a motivational charge is required.
Yet, ask the average Notre Dame student if they know anything about Knute Rockne, and you’re liable to get an answer like the one given by a Notre Dame law student. “He’s got a statue at the stadium, that’s all I know.”
Or, as one current assistant coach replied: “When I was first hired, (Athletic Director) Jack Swarbrick took me on a tour of the locker room, and we passed his bust.”
Somewhere out there, Rockne’s memory is flabbergasted: “That’s all you got? A statue? A bust? A memorial mass on the anniversary of my plane crash where the priest doesn’t as much as mention my name?”
Knute Rockne fathered the Notre Dame Fighting Irish into a national institution to this day on par only with the New York Yankees, and singlehandedly sold the game of football to an entire nation.
Today, the country is paralyzed by a raging global pandemic. Life is at a standstill.
But they’re playing football.
Football. The game Knute Rockne built, perfected, and won better than anybody, dead or alive.
So, when you watch a quarterback snap off a perfect spiral and hit a receiver in stride, you’re watching Knute Rockne. When you hear a coach barking motivation to a player, you’re listening to Knute Rockne. When you feel that fresh youthful enthusiasm of a college football atmosphere, you’re feeling Knute Rockne.
And when you step foot on Notre Dame’s campus, no matter who you are, where you’re from or where you’re going, you’re breathing Knute Rockne.
Rockne’s spirit doesn’t need resurrecting. He’s in the air. Strong as ever. Forever.
It’s the living who can use a Knute Rockne rejuvenation.