Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!

I think everyone has a movie or two that they can't pass by when they find it playing on TV.  Rudy is one of those movies for me.  This is the ultimate story about overcoming adversity.  Rudy has a dream of playing football for Notre Dame, one of the best programs in the country.  He has all kinds of heart, but not the physical attributes necessary to achieve that goal....or so we think.

Before Rudy graduates, he is denied access to a bus that is taking prospective students to Notre Dame because "some people just aren't cut out to go to college".  So he enrolls at a smaller college literally across the street from Notre Dame.  While in college, he applies to ND several times, and he is turned down every time, except for his last opportunity, in which he is finally accepted.  Hurdle one....overcome.

While at ND, he tries to walk on to the football team.  The prospective players are told that on the team, there are dozens of players on full scholarships who will never even get to play in a game, so they shouldn't even consider making the team.  They try out, and because of his effort, Rudy is invited on the team.  Barely, but he makes it.  Hurdle two...overcome.

After a season of being a tackling dummy for the first stringers and never seeing the field for a game, he convinces his coach to let him dress for one game the following season.  The coach balks, but realizes that Rudy has in fact earned it, so he agrees to let him dress for one game next season.  His hopes raised, he tells his doubting family to be ready next season to watch him play.  He sees his goal in reach.  And then.....

ND hires a new coach.  The goal is gone, but instead of giving up, Rudy continues to bust his ass every day at practice and more than earns the respect of his teammates and coaches (at least the assistant coaches). Each week, he checks to see if his name is on the players list, and it isn't.  Before the final game of the season, with his name still absent from the list, he quits the team before his final practice, because after all, what is the point?  Fortunately, his mentor, the head maintenance man of the stadium, convinces him that if he quits, he'll regret it the rest of his life, so Rudy goes back to his final practice.

In spite of his lack of size and ability, every member of the team bands together before the final game and tells the coach that Rudy should play in his place.  It is team unity at its finest.  And the coach agrees.  Rudy dresses for the final game.  Hurdle three....overcome.

Rudy leads the team on the field but stays on the sideline for the entire game.  ND eventually wraps the game up, and the offense is instructed to take a knee to end the game.  However, the team knows that if the offense is on the field, Rudy won't get to play a down, so they run one final low percentage play...and score a touchdown.  Defense is back on the field, and the team convinces the coach to let Rudy in for the kickoff and the final play.  Hurdle four.....overcome.

Through his effort and dedication, Rudy realized his dream of getting to run out of the tunnel and play in an actual game for his boyhood football idols.  But it didn't end there.  On his only play on defense, Rudy sacks the opposing quarterback to end the game, and he is carried off the field on his teammates' shoulders.  Unexpected hurdle five....overcome by a long shot.

I've probably watched this movie 50 times, and I still get goosebumps every time I see the ending.  This kid had a huge dream, and he worked hard to achieve it.  He didn't ask for special favors, and no one granted him any.  He played by the rules, was knocked down many times, but he got up and kept going.  In the end, things worked out better than he ever could have imagined.  During the time I've been teaching kickboxing, I've had (and continue to have) the pleasure of witnessing many success stories, but an ongoing one is sticking out in my mind right now.  While watching Rudy today (for the second time today, probably time number 53 overall), it struck me just how ridiculous and almost contrived this story of Rudy is, and that there is no way stuff like this happens in real life. 

But it hit me today that I was wrong.  I have a good friend who is currently navigating the Ethiopian adoption process.  I know nothing of the details of this process, but I read her blog religiously, and it reads like Rudy on steroids.  I can't even begin to describe the unbelievable roller coaster ride that this woman and her family have been on.  Hopes up, then dashed.  Up again, then another setback.  Another change of direction, and another roadblock.  This has been going on for two years, and it continues today.  There are so many parallels between her story and Rudy's, and this week, in her real life story, she just got a new coach (figuratively speaking).  Things are looking dark for her, and I'm sure she is full of doubts right now.  But I can't help but see that, just like Rudy, her dream is huge, she continues to put in the effort to realize her dream, and she has an incredible support team that continues to see and admire her.  The movie gives me goosebumps when everything works out for Rudy in the end, and I thoroughly believe that I'll have goosebumps again when her story ends just as spectacularly for her down the road.  Hang in there my friend...your efforts will not go unrewarded.