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LAYTON — Davis County residents celebrated St. Patrick's Day on Thursday in a truly unique fashion, as Notre Dame Fighting Irish football legend Rudy Ruettiger paid a visit to Layton High School to speak to an auditorium of fans.
Yes, that Rudy. The Notre Dame walk-on famously sacked Boston College's quarterback on the last play of the only game Ruettiger would ever get in. That play inspired the blockbuster film "Rudy," along with millions of people who relate to Ruettiger's story of perseverance.
"His message of persistence in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges is one that we can all learn from," said Logan Toone, assistant superintendent for Davis School District. "That persistence is our goal as a district."
His story — along with the message to never give up — was what brought Ruettiger to Davis County. Don't call him a motivational speaker, though.
"I'm a storyteller," Ruettiger said.
Armed with his stories, and Ruettiger has a barrage of them, his message Thursday night was to "inspire people to be better, do better (and) inspire people to know we all have skills and talents."
"Dream big and keep going when it gets hard. Hard work pays off," Ruettiger said.
To Ruettiger, you don't have to be an athlete to resonate with his story and you most certainly don't have to be one of the most famous alumni in Notre Dame football history.
"Everybody's a Rudy," he said. "We all have our struggles and obstacles, we just have to move forward and get through them — no one's given a free pass."
He reminisced about his days at Notre Dame — days where he often felt like he didn't belong or wasn't good enough. To overcome these feelings, Ruettiger looked back to the hours of work he put in both on the field and in the classroom that earned him his spot at Notre Dame.
"It's a combination of your heart, passion and commitment," Ruettiger said.
Ruettiger's story, a story that "changed" the life of Kobe Bryant, has many messages and pieces of advice. To Ruettiger, the most important piece is simple.
"Have courage to move towards your dream," Ruetigger said. "Just get up and work hard. It's pure, it's not complicated. Hard work pays off."
