Look at the message of this movie.
Practice your heart out for years only to be pitied by those better than you. He went through all that to get one sack?
That's like someone studying for half a decade, fail every test, and then getting an A on their one final exam.
No matter how hard you try, if someone is flat out better than you, they will always be.
The next Chappelle? Hell yeah. DC Comedian Tommy Taylor:
www.tommytaylorjr.com
You missed the point. At the end, he was not pitied, he was respected by the other players.
You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi
Did you watch the short documentary that accompanies "Rudy" on the DVD? The events in his life, as depicted in the film, really happened. He stuck to his dream, overcame all of his obstacles (including dyslexia) and earned the respect of his team mates.
"Pity?" WHAT pity? Rudy didn't tolerate special treatment because of his size. There's a scene where, during practice, one of the big bruisers avoids running into him. You fail to give the kid enough credit for brains to realize on his own that if he accepts pity and special treatment he won't last last long even as a human football practice dummy, and hence, no chance to make it on the team FOR REAL and run through the tunnel and out into the playing field--which is why Rudy gets in the big guy's face to knock it off the pity stuff!
"No matter how hard you try, if someone is flat out better than you, they will always be." Maybe that's true for you, but if so, speak for yourself. But if your mentality is such that you won't put out the blood, sweat and tears to make your dreams come true, then you'll always be stuck in the little ruts of life.
I'm not much of a chess player, and never was. But I can tell you I'm a helluva lot better than I used to be and once even beat a state champion in an informal game! (I got lucky, there, but still...) The point being, one cannot improve himself without adversity or without the experience of playing against someone who is a better and stronger player than himself. Every athlete and every chess player worth his salt achieved his status by playing against worthy opponents. And every defeat a person suffers, whether it be in sports, over the chess board, or in life in general, is an opportunity to learn and grow from the experience of the loss.
A "throw in the towel" attitude such as the one you seem to be advocating, Popple_mario, never got anyone anywhere. "Quitters," as they say, "NEVER WIN!"
The point of this movie isn't whether Rudy was "better" or "worse" than anybody else. Everyone agrees he had no talent. The point was he worked his arse off to be the best he could possibly be.
As Fortune says to him in the film, "In this life the only person you have to prove anything to is yourself..." It was about him proving to himself what he could do and couldn't do, and not listening to what others told him,like the teacher early in the film. You may think that 2 plays and 1 sack is very little for 2 years of abuse, but what if his ability to survive on the field all that time was what gave him the strength to survive in the classroom and graduate? B/c you can't trivialize the fact that a kid from a blue-collar family which had never had anyone go to college before, who had dsylexia no less at at time when very few people know what that was & there wasn't the aides in the educational world that there are today to help people w/ that condition, got a degree from one of the finest private liberal arts colleges in the country.
Dude, the movie is about self respect and determination. Easily one of the most inspiring movies I've ever seen.
shareIf you read my message board called "To Hell With Rudy" you'll notice that the message was only one of the two things i liked about the movie. so basically, if I, the only person in the world who has all the worst thing to say about this movie, thinks the message was good. then i guess theis movie actually has a good message.
shareI'm different than Rudy. I may try different things, but if I'm not good at something and don't see myself getting better, then I usually will quit and move on to something else. I don't see myself as a failure though. Failure is trying and trying to reach your goal only to fall flat on your face. If you don't put all your eggs in one basket, you won't feel like a failure if you don't succeed. Set different goals for yourself because realistically, your chances for success in achieving your dream are miniscule.
What exactly did Rudy do after graduating from ND? I know he is a motivational speaker, but what has he ever worked so hard at and finally accomplished besides getting into the end of a 1-sided game and assisting on a sack (that's what really happened)?
notice that thats what i keep trying to convince people, that he didnt do anything else after graduating ND. He just focuses his whole life on that one assited sack. THANK YOU! Once again the message was still good.
shareOne thing that I can't stand about motivational speakers is when they say "You can be anything that you want to be." Even as a kid I knew that was untrue. It sounds good, but it's total BS. Trying to do something that you are not good at and not qualified for is a waste of time, and in some cases, money. It can also be very dangerous.
I guess this movie depends on if your a half empty or half full person. From a half full perspective you can say that he achieved his dream which was to play for the Irish and he did for one play. From a half empty perspective you can say he worked his ass off and devoted his entire life for just one play which lasted less than a minute and then what with the rest of his life? Imagine if he had spent all that time and hard work towards something else.
shareSuccess isn't about the destination, it's about the journey along the way. Rudy worked his a$$ off and gave it everything he had. He dared to dream. He didn't let the fear of failure stop him. He took risk.
I'd much rather be a "Rudy" in my life, than be someone cool who gave up on their dreams because they were afraid of failing.
This may be the stupidest post I have read on here, and even worse that there are some that agree with what was said.
Rudy knew that because of his size that he would never be a full time player for the Irish, but his dream was to suit up and step on the field just once, and what is wrong with that. He ended up getting a degree from Notre Dame out of the deal. Worked harder, and accomplished more off of the field and in the classroom than he could have ever expected.
He wasn't pitied by the players, he earned their respect by coming out every day and giving it all he had.
Joe Montana was on the sidelines when Rudy went on the field and in an interview from the early 90's said,
"Oh, the guys just went crazy on the sideline," said Joe Montana on Charles Kuralt's "Sunday Morning" show in December 1992. "I mean, it was like we had won the national championship almost. I mean, that's how -- how excited everybody was for him."
Someone in an earlier post said that trying to achieve a dream can sometimes be dangerous. Can you seriously give me an example of when it actually ended up being dangerous?
Anybody who puts down someone for chasing a dream, no matter how big or small, should give their head a shake.
I don't have a problem with people chasing realistic goals, but yes it can be dangerous to try to do something that you're not capable of doing. Should a blind person try to become a race car driver? Should a crippled person become a police officer? Should a midget try to become a professional basketball player? Those are just a few examples.
shareWhen I attended high school, a skinny classmate tried out for the football team. In spite of his thin frame, he made the team. His marginal talent was overshadowed by his enthusiasm and effort, just like Rudy. One day during a full-dress practice scrimmage, a tackle was made. It was hard and violent. He never got up on his own and remained unconscious in the ambulance ride to the hospital. He passed away days later. People questioned why he was allowed to participate considering the higher level of risk in his case.
Rudy was very lucky he survived a violent sport considering his small stature. Was Rudy foolish to assume a similar risk?
Darryl Stingley was a 1st round pick for the Detroit Lions out of Purdue in 1973. He obviously played on a high level in college at least, and had the talent to get drafted in the first round. In 1978, he was paralyzed by a hit in a preseason game. He died 3 years ago at the age of 55, partially due to complications surrounding his injury.
Football's a violent sport, and, sadly, sometimes bad things happen to players, be they big or small, talented or otherwise. Rudy had a right to try his hand at it, same as everyone else.
I'm surprised to see the "what did he do with the rest of his life?" question. His success was in pursuing his passion to the point that he exceeded his own expectations. His goal was to run through the tunnel as a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He exceeded the goal when he was actually put into the game for two plays and then further exceeded expectations when he actually recorded a tackle. (unassisted in the movie, but with another player in real life)
So, when he decides what to do for a living, the logical choice is to take what he'd learned and accomplished at Notre Dame and help others with his story. The fact that he chose this path doesn't suggest to me that it was all he could do, it was just the most logical choice.
His passion was his path to a productive career and I'm sure he has helped many along the way. I am reaching the end of my career and looking back I wish I'd done more to help people other than myself and my family. Rudy was able to take an experience and use it as an example for others to follow in pursuing their passions.
When I was a kid I played Little League baseball and my goal was to hit a home run in a game. During the last game I played as a 15-year-old (Senior League) I finally cranked one over the fence. Hooray, I acheived my life's goal at 15, now what? Having a life goal that can be acheived so early in life kind of leaves you with an empty feeling. I guess I should have become something really useful to society, like maybe an emotional speaker.
shareWhy is everyone missing the point here?
He set out to prove 2 things.
1 he wanted to go to Notre Dame.
2 he wanted to play foot ball for the Irish.
It is known to be a long standing dream of many a Catholic male child from the 1940's to the 1990's.
There's no denying the mystique of the ND Football program and being Catholic, well it's the mecca of it all.
Think about the time in life. Strong willed factory/labor working fathers providing for their families. Church meant something to families. And ND football dominated the land.
Coming from a dink city in Illinois, just west of Joliet btw, I know how Rudy must have felt. Almost every kid i knew growing up dreamed of the day Rudy accomplished.
Leave it up to the haters to try and defeat what has already been accomplished by him.
And as for historical inaccuracies, who cares. Enjoy the movie and know that someone in their real life didn't quit. Maybe we can all learn something from it.
"I guess I should have become something really useful to society, like maybe an emotional speaker."
If he was born a really talented football player, and had gone on to have a really successful NFL career, would he be all that much more useful to society?
I don't see what the big deal is that he decided to become a motivational speaker after he graduated. Having been to conferences, there's a huge market for these people. If you're good at it and enjoy it, what difference does it make? How are they any less useful, in any tangible way, than consultants, marketing executives, professional athletes, entertainers, or a host of other occupations that don't really "make" anything, and have no direct impact on anyone outside of entertainment or some kind of mental or emotional impact?
People act like him becoming a professional speaker is some kind of a "let-down" after graduating ND and playing in that game. I don't figure that. He obviously enjoys public speaking, achieving that goal helped open the door for him in the field, so who's to say he has any "empty feeling" now about his life?
IMO,Professional athletes contribute just as little to society as motivational speakers. Calling the job an "emotional" speaker is just my little joke.
shareI don't get the original poster. Rudy earned the respect of the football team. It wasn't pity. Rudy's goal of playing football for Notre Dame may sound modest, but it was a mountain for him. He achieved his goal and then some. And the journey made him a better man.