The Fighting Irish
Shiny gold helmets, the Grotto, Touchdown Jesus, Lou Holtz, Knute Rockne, the Four Horsemen, the Gipper, Rudy...ah, I love it all, in all of its Fighting Irish glory. When I was a teenager, I went through various phases of posters on my wall: Duran Duran, River Phoenix, then James Dean. But only one man's framed picture graced my bedside table: Lou Holtz, coach of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. It was a black-and-white photo of Coach Holtz on the sidelines, in his classic pose, crouched down and attentively watching the action on the field. I caught a post-game interview on television, as I wandered through the living room. The coach on the screen was a grandfatherly man with glasses and an accent that reminded me of my midwestern relatives. The team had just completed a great victory and Lou Holtz could only talk about the areas of play that needed improvement. I learned more about him. He suspended k...