Advice from a coach
MIKE CONNOLLLY
Outside looking in
When Bob Davie said his last words to the Notre Dame football media and walked off the podium, I followed him. I didn't really have any more questions to ask him. For three years I have asked him plenty of questions while I covered the Notre Dame football team.
I walked quickly to catch up with him as he walked through the Sports Heritage Hall back to the office he will soon vacate. When I finally caught up to him in the dark stairway leading down to the football office, I just wanted to tell him something.
I shook his hand said, "Thank you Coach."
I wasn't really sure what kind of response I would get from him. I had been a harsh critic of his coaching regime in the past. I called for him to be fired after the loss to Texas A&M and The Observer had officially called for him to resign in an editorial on Friday.
Davie could have, and probably should have, kept walking and been bitter about my treatment of him in the past. But Davie didn't keep walking. He stopped, smiled back and me and said "Thank you."
He thanked me for being a tough reporter and said he thought I had a big future ahead of me in sports journalism. But he also issued me a warning. He said that I had to avoid becoming cynical and sarcastic. He said that I had to be tough but never mean-spirited. He reminded me to always treat people respectfully.
I've learned a lot as a sports journalist at Notre Dame. I can cover a game. I can recognize good ideas for features. I know how to conduct an interview. But in that stairway in the Joyce Center, Davie taught me perhaps my most important lesson: If I want to be a great journalist, I need to be more like Bob Davie.
Throughout his eight years at Notre Dame, Davie has been the definition of class and integrity. Through all the abuse he receives from fans, Internet sites and reporters, he never lashed out. He never acted spitefully. He did his job the best he could. In the end, that wasn't good enough, but no one can say that Davie didn't do his best.
After being attacked for months in the press, Davie did not use his last Irish press conference to fire back. Instead, he turned the other cheek.
"Before I leave, I just want to thank all you guys in the media," he said. "I know all of you have a responsibility. I understand what comes with that responsibility and I hope you have respect for me from the way I've handled myself. If I can ever do anything for any of you, let me know."
Alumni and some reporters have said that Davie doesn't understand the Irish spirit and doesn't fit at Notre Dame. If honesty, integrity and respect aren't the three most important parts of Irish spirit, then Irish spirit is worthless.
Bob Davie the head coach might not be the right fit for Notre Dame's football team. But no one better embodies the spirit and class of Notre Dame than Davie. If Davie can't come back to visit Notre Dame and always find a place in the Notre Dame family, then I want no part of this place.
In his farewell address, Davie said if his son Clay grows up to be like the type of men on his football team, he will consider himself a success. If I live my life with the same class and dignity as Bob Davie, I will consider myself a success.
Thanks Coach.
Contact Mike Connolly at connolly.28@nd.edu. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer nad not necssarily those of The Observer.
All Sports Stories for Monday, December 3, 2001
