Knute Rockne - Coach And Legend Of Notre Dame Essay -- essays research

Knute Rockne - Coach and Legend of Notre Dame Knute Kenneth Rockne was born on March 4, 1888 in Voss, Norway. He first moved to Chicago at the age of 5. Nobody liked him there, and he was in many fights. Before football or even baseball, Knute discovered skiing.   He loved it, and went skiing every chance he got during the winter. Knute was a natural athlete, and excelled in all of the sports he tried. He excelled in track, making a name for himself later on. Although he was always one of the shortest guys around, Knute was one of the toughest. The only protective gear he ever wore was adhesive tape that he stuck to his ears to prevent them from being torn off. Knute often said "Show me a good and gracious loser and I'll show you a failure." Knute discovered the great game of football at the age of 7. He played in games against other teams his age. The team he played on was called the Tricky Tigers. All of the teams were "sandlot" teams. Knute could not get enough of the sport. He praticed every chance he got. In fact, the other boys thought him crazy for practicing so much. This obsession almost got him an education. Knute never made the starting team until he was a senior, so he played on the scrubs team. At the same time, Knute tried playing many other sports. His school attendance slipped and his grades became mediocre. Persistence paid off, and after 3 years on the scrubs, Knute finally made it to the starting football team. After this successful senior football season, it was time for him to leave high school. It was a wonder that he got into Notre Dame with his high school record. At the age of 22, Rockne decided that he wanted to fulfill a dream. That dream was to become a pharmacist and to eventually own his own drug store. Two of Knute's friends gained acceptance to a small college in South Bend, Indiana called Notre Dame.   Knute decided to try to get into this same school, although his high school grades were dismal. He was accepted, but his parents were not fond of the idea of him going to a Catholic school, as they themselves were practicing Lutherans. However, they did not forbid him to go. Interestingly, Notre Dame was not Rockney's first college choice. For years he had saved and planned to go to the University of Illinois. Knute had not even planned on playing football in college. That decision would have resulted i... ...! Practice makes perfect and perfect practice makes a winning team." One of his most innovative ideas was the Notre Dame Shift'. This was when the entire backfield would move all to oneside of the ball before the ball was snapped. This really screwed up the defenders and it worked a lot for ND. "Knute was the most innovative and charismic coaches of his era." The Cleavland Press called him "the Buffalo Bill of his generation." In his last game as coach he defied his doctors   orders and went to the field. The players looked on in horror when the man they thought might die in front of them told them to win or watch him die. Rockne ended his career with the greatest all time % of .881: 105 wins,12 losses, 5 ties, 6 national championships and 5 undefeated seasons. Rokne tragically died in a plane crash a the age of 43. Studebaker named a car after him and the U.S. government named a ship after him. Will Rogers put it best when he said, " It takes a big calamity to shock a country all at once, but Knute, you did it. You died one of our national heroes. Notre Dame was your address, but every gridiron in america was your home."(needs to be proofread)