Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Ruettiger will be in Aggieland for Aggie-Irish clash

You know his story from the 1993 film starring Sean Astin, and this weekend, Rudy Ruettiger is making his way to Aggieland as No. 20 Texas A&M faces his Notre Dame Fighting Irish, joining forces with Johnny Manziel for the Legends Only Tailgate in Aggie Park on Saturday.

Key notes from Rudy Ruettiger interview

• I don't look at myself as a legend.
   
• By the way, the best of Texas A&M is the Texas A&M Band. They have not lost anything. I will never forget watching them. I'll never forget how they performed. I was up in the review stand with President H.W. Bush. He never saw the movie “Rudy.” He asked me who I was, and I said, "I'm a nobody." He said, "You have to be somebody to be up here," and I said, "Well, they made a movie called ‘Rudy.’" He said he had never seen it before, so I asked him if he wanted to see it. He said, “Yes,” so I sent him the movie. On Nov. 6, the re-election of George Bush, he said, "From a proud dad, Barabara and I watched ‘Rudy.’" I was then made an honorary member of the 12th Man.
   
• Johnny Football, I met him at a signing. He said, "Sir, my name is Johnny Manziel." I said, "You're Johnny football." He said, "Yes, Sir." He called me sir. He really referenced me and revered me in that moment. I'm not sure how it's going to go, but I know it's going to be a fun event. I know anything that he does, he has fun with it. I know tickets are available at the LegendsOnlyTailgate.com. That's Saturday, Aug. 31, at Aggie Park.
   
• Watching Manziel was exciting. You never knew what he would do next, and that's why he was exciting. Kids are different nowadays. Not that it's bad, but some of them are getting paid. It's almost like being a free agent in a football league. These kids are good kids, and they feel if things get hard, they need to go somewhere else.
   
• Joe Montana had a coaching change, and he came in as a seventh-string QB at Notre Dame. In his junior year, he was third or fourth. He got his chance to play at Notre Dame his junior year, and because of a few guys getting hurt, not only did he play, but he came from behind and beat North Carolina and then, the next week, did the same thing against Air Force. He ended up winning the national championship. Bill Walsh saw the potential, ended up drafting him low, put him on the bench for two years, and the rest is history. Four-time Super Bowl champion. Two-time MVP. So Montana never quit. He stuck it out. Even though things didn't look bright for him. When things aren't going right, you stick it out. I think that's what needs to be taught to these kids.
   
• What's the answer? Junior college. You can go out there and get yourself prepared. There are other ways of getting there. I didn't get to Notre Dame academically like I should've. I got there after enlisting in the Navy. I have dyslexia and an attention deficit disorder, but because I hung around the right people in the Navy, it taught me to be patient. I took that back to my blue-collar job, where an accident happened, and I had to make a decision. Do I move on? Do I feel sorry for myself? Or do I blame? I moved on and went for my dream. I didn't want to live in regret. That mindset is so important. When things get bad, you don't go back and regret it. You go back and move on and don't live in regret. Maybe things don't work out, but if you stick in there, they might.
   
• It's an empowering movie because it shows you that no matter who you are and where you're at in life if you focus on what you can do and do better at what you can do and show up at what you want to do, you'll have an opportunity. That applies to business as well as sports. Kobe Bryant contacted me at a basketball game when my daughter was singing the national anthem. He told me how much the movie meant to him and the message he got out of it. He talks about the message of the movie “Rudy”: Just show up, work hard and get better. Work ethic is the key, and getting better is the key.
   
• A lot of the athletes I meet tell me how much the movie means to them. Allen Iverson, Michael Vick and Archie Manning came up to me at the Fanatics event in New York, and they all told me how much the movie meant to them. It's about the dream. It's about the purpose. Some of us chase the money, and you shouldn't. Chase your passion, and the money will come in different ways.
   
• With Notre Dame and Texas A&M, you have two traditional teams right there, and the audience and crowd are going to be awesome. Because Notre Dame has a transfer quarterback who grew up with the movie “Rudy,” I think that's why he's going to connect to that football team because he has a purpose and a connection to the tradition of Notre Dame. Whereas Texas A&M, look at those kids. It's the safest campus I ever felt I was on. Going to Yell Practice was awesome, and the band is awesome. You think about how much the student body connects to everyday life and the dream. That's the difference, and that's why it's going to be a great game.