11/05/24
September 26, 2005
A coach with a heart and the brains to go with it: ND Coach Charlie Weis makes a gutsy call on the first play of the Washington game in honor of a ten year old boy's last wish. In doing so, he may have just taught his players the most valuable lesson of all; integrity.
I'm usually immune to these win-it-for-the-dying-kid type stories, but this story... well, no one ever said Charlie Weis lacked class, and if he can teach that sense of perspective to his charges, then we're all better off. That's what a teacher is supposed to be. Good on him, and may this story get more play than the latest as-the-stomach-turns of whatever diva receiva throws a needless shitfit this week.
posted by chicobangs at 02:20 PM on September 26, 2005
I am speechless.....
posted by daddisamm at 02:34 PM on September 26, 2005
A very nice gesture. Too bad the kid didn't get to see the play go down.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:17 PM on September 26, 2005
I hope that the gesture brings comfort to Montana's family. The thing that really hits me, though, is how Weis managed to turn something that could have sounded like a Hallmark movie into a "teachable moment". It's his team who really got the gift from this: a dose of perspective, a sense of where they are in the scheme of things. There is plenty of temptation for a Div I football hero to be a thug, but maybe realizing that a ten-year-old kid, staring his own death in the face, was still looking at them, will make some of those players more conscious of the eyes on them, and more concerned about how they conduct themselves. For every ten-year-old dying of a brain tumor, there are many more still alive, and still watching. Kudos to Weis for getting the lesson across without banging his gums about it overmuch. Just one thing... The players represent the fans who pay their salaries In theory, these players don't have salaries. And Weis's "men" are mostly boys, regardless of their chronological age.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:27 PM on September 26, 2005
Hey- that was a classy move by Charlie. Not to mention it was a 13 yard gain. The TE made a great effort to grab the ball and have the awareness to jump over the defender and get the first down. Im sure the boy would be happy to see his play executed perfectly on the field- a real classy move.
posted by redsoxrgay at 04:10 PM on September 26, 2005
At the risk of sounding heartless, can I ask a question: on the play, the announcers said Fasano's leap over the defender would have been illegal in college football up until a few years ago. What was the point of that rule?
posted by yerfatma at 04:13 PM on September 26, 2005
Dios se la paga/ The Lord will pay him for his good deeds. RJG
posted by Richard j Garcia at 04:16 PM on September 26, 2005
Very emotional I took time from briefing torts to read it-glad I did. What a moving story.
posted by T$PORT4lawschool at 07:47 PM on September 26, 2005
Should have called a Hail Mary.
posted by Stan Chin at 02:04 AM on September 27, 2005
I've never been an ND fan. From now on, as long as Weis is coaching the team, I'll root for ND football.
posted by roberts at 04:52 AM on September 27, 2005
Young Montana never got to see the play that Weis called in his honor. After meeting with Weis earlier that week, he asked Weis to "throw right" on the first play. Weis agreed. And although Montana succummed to the brain tumor the day before the game, Weis kept his promise. With his team backed up on the one, after recovering a fumble, a position where a pass play is against all logic, Quinn took the snap in his own end zone and ran a naked bootleg pass to Fasano for 13 yards. This is one of the most inspirational things I have ever heard, but I think the real lesson comes from what happened in the locker room. Weis told his men about Montana so that they knew that they represented Montana even if they don't know him. That is the most true thing about sports that no one ever talks about. Weis showed his men how his one action can change a little boy's life. How compassion and caring goes alot further than anger and bickering. It is not all about the money, cribs, and rides. Its about giving back to the fans. The players represent the fans who pay their salaries and Weis truly understands how to use his fame and influence to do good. This one act will forever be in the minds of Montana's parents and for them will be far more memorable than any national championship ever won. Weis is truly a great man and a wonderful coach and I hope his players understand the greatness of his actions. P.S. God bless Montana and his family and may the Lord be with them in this time of loss.