Joe Montana made an appearance on the Dan Patrick Radio Show and was asked about the classic sports film Rudy. His candid response is sure to drive a stake in the heart of many Notre Dame football fans.
A few facts need to be straightened out before we listen to the clip. If you aren’t familiar with the film Rudy it follows the real life story of former Notre Dame walk on football player Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger. During the film Ruettiger faces seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve his dream of playing for Notre Dame. The closing scene of the film reenacts a play during the final game of his senior year in which he is put into the game, records a sack and is carried off the field by his teammates. Rudy is widely considered one of the greatest sports films ever made.
But wait one minute before you let one of those man-tears slip out just thinking about the little engine that could. According to NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana much of the film sequences were over dramatized and inaccurate. You see, Montana was a QB for that team so he had a first hand account of exactly what happened and the intent and motivations of that last play and why his teammates chose to carry Ruettiger off the field.
Lets check out that last scene from the film just so Joe Montana can trash all the good feelings right afterwords!
Now lets hear what Joe Montana, who is in the argument for greatest QB of all time, had to say about the film. This will be followed by a full transcript of the back and forth between Montana and Patrick:
Dan Patrick: Were you there when Rudy was there?
Joe Montana: Yeah, It’s a movie remember. Not all that’s true
DP: Well what wasn’t true?
JM: Well the crowd wasn’t chanting. No one threw in their jersey. He did get in the game, he got carried off the game and really back then they tried to play everyone, that all the seniors could get in during the last home game so the schedule was kind of set that way. So he got in, he did get a sack, and then the guys carried him off just playing around. I won’t say it was a joke, just playing around. But he did work his butt of to get where he was and to do the things he did but not any harder than anybody else.
DP: Wait. You’re ruining it for me here. I bought in that you guys were turning in your jerseys and this was emotional and Rudy he was your spiritual rallying cry.
JM: (Sarcastic laughter) Woah, what’s in your coffee this morning?
I can’t find any grey area with those comments from Joe about Rudy. In no uncertain terms he is writing off most of the legendary film as Hollywood fluff. In fact I sensed a little bit of animosity about the whole thing. These type-A personalities don’t care for others, especially those that they perceive as undeserving, encroaching on their due spotlight. From what I heard I think Montana has had enough with the whole Rudy thing altogether!
Now I know we’re all aware that any film is going to sugar coat the story to build up drama but the frankness and means by which Montana dismisses a film so important to so many people is pretty amazing. The whole part about “not harder than anybody else” rips apart the whole fabric of the film.
What do you think about Montana’s comments? Are they sour grapes or refreshingly frank recollections of a living legend?
If you want to hear the full interview from The Dan Patrick Show you can check it out here.
Top Image: YouTube / Mike – Fame Pictures
