This film, starring Patty Duke’s real-life son Sean Astin, dramatizes the real-life 1970s story of Illinois-born Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger. The young man overcame impoverished circumstances, dyslexia, and setbacks on and off the field to play football at Indiana’s prestigious University of Notre Dame.
Physical Competition
It’s tempting to fault young men for their physical aggression and accompanying appetite for bodily risk. Filmmakers here imply that those same qualities are what get tough jobs done, in factories or battlefields. They portray sport as a legitimate, even happy, outlet for that natural outpouring of physical combativeness.Yes, it must be made as safe as possible through proper training, gear, and technique. The sport must also engender healthy, not self-defeating, competitiveness. In this ways, young men are encouraged to channel their aggression onto playing fields with dignity and sportsmanship; they’re also less likely to have outbursts of violence in homes or on streets, and more likely to be restrained elsewhere.
Restraint so governs Rudy and his buddy Bob McGowan that women on campus feel comfortable in their company, confident that their “yes,” say for a date, won’t be exploited, and that their “no” won’t be twisted to be read as a camouflaged “yes.” Neither Rudy nor Dennis is arrogant enough to presume that every pretty woman they set their sights on should warm to them. That doesn’t stop them from wooing, and they do it politely, creatively, and amusingly.
Physical Restraint
Petty rivalries or resentments can often spiral into violence. A barroom scuffle in Illinois illustrates that. Rudy’s buddies take turns taunting him, joking that he’ll never make it in college football; he’s too small and weak on the field and too slow to learn off it. Tempers flare. Pushing and shoving ensues. But the proverbial fists don’t fly.The boys, now men, have learned, with some nudging from older guys who know better, not to allow fury to overcome them. To use a boxing metaphor, after a bit of manful sparring, they learn to return to their corner.
Life is tough for everyone, and certainly tougher for some. But that’s no excuse for entitlement. That’s also no reason to give up dreaming and daring big. Rudy slogs for four years in a steel mill in Illinois, saving up for college. Then, he slogs again for almost as many years in Indiana.
Older Guidance
Who are these older males who know better? At home, it’s Rudy’s father who works hard and plays hard. At college, it’s stadium groundskeeper Mr. Fortune, campus priest Fr. John Cavanaugh, head coach Ara Parseghian, and assistant coaches. By sharing their fears, limitations, and failures, these wise and well-meaning adult male role models help Rudy see beyond himself.
In one charged scene, Fortune scolds Rudy for even contemplating quitting just because coaches don’t indulge him by playing him as soon as he’d like. Rudy moans. By wearing Notre Dame’s colors, all he’d wanted was to “prove” to family and friends back home that he’d made it.
Fortune scoffs, reminding Rudy that despite his small stature and lack of natural athletic ability, he has a lot going for him: “You hung in with the best college football team in the land for two years. And you’re … going to walk out of here with a degree. … You don’t have to prove nothing to nobody, except yourself. … Now go on back!”
