Lou Holtz On Catholics vs. Convicts & Bringing A Championship To Notre Dame

you're the guy that put up play Like A Champion today at Notre Dame what what happened when I go to Notre Dame I go to the library and I get all the books on Notre Dame history football and I see a picture in this old book play Like A Champion today and I said what happened that sign it was right above the entrance way to Notre Dame I mean it was a Notre Dame picture nobody had ever heard of it nobody knew anything about it so I said I want that picture I want that sign printed exactly the way it was then and I said I want that we're going to put it up and we're going to hit that sign and every time you do it you're going to think about the great players that came before you about the obligation you have representing the university Notre Dame about all the sacrifices your family and friends made for you to be here I want all this to go through your mind understand when you go through that you got to play Like A Champion date not necessarily for you but for everybody enabled you to be here and that's what that's how it came about I didn't put it up but I did the research how important at that time was winning a national championship for you personally I I I think dreams are everybody needs four things in your life if you don't have four things in your life you file tremendous void something to do everybody needs something to do everybody needs someone to love everybody needs someone to believe but everybody needs something to hope for having something to hope for is critical Martin Luther King made one of the 10 greatest speeches in the history of mankind where he said I have a dream he had a dream do you think that speech would had the same effect and he stood up and said I have a strategic plan I want to show you strategic plans it's dreams it's excitement it's belief this great 1988 season you start the year rank 13th Miami slides up to number one at some point and it just just there's a collision course happening here between Notre Dame and Miami how do you prepare for this game against the Miami Hurricanes well Miami came from like 14 down in the last couple minutes to beat Michigan and we beat Michigan so I called Bo and Bo I love Bo shencker we're great friends off the field and I said you played both of us do we have a chance to beat Miami he said you have a chance but you're going to have to play awfully well I said all I want to hear was that we had a chance and all year we knew that if we're going to make it to the big time we had to beat Miami not just because they were number one in defending shamp they had beaten US 58 to7 the last game before I became the head coach they had run fake punt reverses they did all these different things they ran it up they they embarrassed Notre Dame a pions doing the TV and he said from these ashes Notre Dame will rise up again they they had they had embarrassed us and and that was Our obligation to correct that this is the game they called Catholics versus convicts but that wasn't fair it was inaccurate because not all our team was Catholic the convict you have no problem with I can't control that but we weren't all Catholics great moment that you have in the locker room before your team takes the field and you're getting your guys psyched up you're doing your thing and at the end you say something to the effect of you go out there and kick their asses you save Jimmy Johnson for me no like you were going to kick his ass in the parking lot after that what happened is we do our pregame warmup they do theirs Miami comes down they bump our players they run through our team a big fight happens before the game before the game for warm up in the end zone and the people getting fights are the third teamers they aren't going to play but they go back to the norm yeah I punched the guy you know but now we come in the locker room after the big fight I'm so embarrassed here we are number one in Notre Dame and we're the host and we treat guest like that there is no understanding explanation that I will accept that would cause us to be in that fight I don't care what they did we're the host so now we're in the locker room before the game and I have this long speech I want to give him and I said to him if anybody does anything but show class during this entire game you will not only not play the rest of this year you won never play at Notre Dame again I want you to go out and and I want you to play as hard as you can but with nothing but class and just the way you conduct yourself now after the game if they want to fight in the parking lot that's fine we'll meet them in the parking lot and if they do you save Jimmy Johnson's ass for [Applause] me I hadn't planned on it it wasn't what I wanted to say but that's how mad I was and I never said a word about it for 20 years but that's exactly what happened we're going to run the the end of the game the Highlight in two parts here's the first one with your Notre Dame Fighting Irish leading Miami late late in the fourth quarter Jimmy Johnson brings the offense so it has come down to this play it is fourth [Applause] down aren't they something touchdown Andre Brown Jimmy will use a timeout it's 3130 at 45 seconds now they'll go for two I believe touchdown it's 31-3 so Jimmy Johnson calls timeout and he is made the decision as it turns out to go for two and the win you have an opportunity to talk to your team I'm dying to know what you said to your defense leading by one point with them going out there to try and win it just everybody do what you're supposed to do don't try to play two positions have faith and trust in your team just just play your position we'll be fine what was that like for you on the sideline watching this unfold hope they did what I ask him to do well let's see if they did 45 seconds to play Notre Dame 31 Miami 30 and going for [Applause] two incomplete this place is about to explode we've said it before and we'll say it again that's why they play the game 3130 Notre Dame over Miami I'm T I'm I'm taken by your demeanor on the sideline when you win that game against Miami it's the same demeanor you had at Arkansas when you beat Oklahoma there's no jumping up and down Lou Holtz running around like a a crazy guy there you you were very restrained but I I want to ask you what that win against Miami felt like for you and for that team oh it was a great win but you your players are going to follow the demeanor you have the head coach if you're screaming and hollering and yelling they get the attitude boy we're in trouble coaches really panicking and remember this after the game beat my Miami that's a big game that makes the week next week's game even bigger every time you win a game the next week's game becomes even bigger but you're going to take on West Virginia an undefeated Mountaineers team in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship how do you prepare for this game the day before the game we took them to the stadium one of their gifts was a picture and everybody takes picture of their teammates and c and then I assed every senior to be carried off the field by the underclassman I had it worked out you four will carry this senior off you three will carry this one off and we practice carrying them off after the win that's how you prepared for the game the day before we this you basically prepared the celebration well we can't celebrate if we don't win so don't screw me up just but I I would joke with I'd have the game plan on vanilla fall does say to him man this game plan is so great the Hall of Fame wants it in the only way you can keep his at if you don't execute it because I want to tell you it's brilliant right here everybody knows us said don't foul me out you just joke with them a lot here it is the 1989 Fiesta B Johnson is the man to watch the fullback or rice on the keeper Johnson touchdown so the score is nine to nothing well no pressing here on Third and long rice so ISM for a Tex Lou holds such a master when it comes to utilizing his players and there it is the final seconds tick away and Notre Dame will duy celebrate a national championship no doubt the Irish are number one what did it feel like for you to win this National Championship it's just something that they can't take away from you it's an accomplishment that I'm happy for the players uh I've been part of one at Ohio State uh and now to win this you come so close and you got to be so lucky in so many respect you know my wife and I made our decision we're going to be buried at Notre dve our our burial plots are at Notre dve and is on campus and they're beautiful they Overlook the golf course which I love and the golden dome and it's a better view if you're sitting up but but we we have it and and the reason yeah Lums buried me every Saturday so but here's the thing three of our four children graduated from Notre D the one place they will always go back to is Notre D they won't always go somewhere they so that's why we're going to be buried at Notre d