by Ellen Fitzgerald, Special to KankaNation
This past Saturday, as many of you know, the New York Football Giants (as Coach Weis likes to refer to his old team) played the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since this was a home game at the Meadowlands, my dad was there - not using our two seasons tickets, but working. After the game was over, my mom asked me to give him a call to see what he wanted for dinner. The only thing I could get out of him was, "Hey El, I talked to some Domers today about the new coach. I’ll tell you when I get home." Now, when he said this, he was using his sketchy voice so I got a little nervous.
When my dad came home he proceeded to tell me the rest of his story. I don’t know if I have explained this before, but my dad is posted at the gate where the players, media, coaches, etc. come in and out of Giants Stadium. So anyway, after the game on Saturday my dad was approached by a family. The woman said to my father, who was wearing an ND sweatshirt over his uniform that said "IRISH," "Great school." My dad agreed and told her that his daughter, me, went there. She then told him that so did her son. My dad, her, and her husband then began to chat about what years their children graduated, what they were involved in, and what they thought of the new coach. Both the man and the woman thought that the hiring of Charlie Weis was a great move for ND which my dad agreed to. Then finally the woman saw her son and wanted to introduce him to my dad. It was none other than Jerome Bettis. He also agreed with his parents that Charlie Weis was a good coach for the Irish. Bettis then got on the team bus and his parents got in a big black limo as they left The Bus, which my dad says is nicer than the Madden Cruiser, back in Detroit.
After they left, my dad finally got the opinion on ND’s new coach from Dick Lynch, 2003 KankaNation HOF nominee. Apparently he is "ecstatic" that Weis was hired. I am personally happy and relieved about this because I know that he was hoping for Tom Clements to get the job both in 2001 and in 2004.
My dad was quite pleased with himself and was happy that all loyal KankaNation readers would benefit from his interviews.
Ellen Fitzgerald is a periodic contributor to Kanka’s Sports Page. She would like to thank her father for allowing her to exploit his position to get the inside scoop on all things that pass through the gates of the Meadowlands, for teaching her how to stalk athletes, and for grooming her in sketchy sketchy ways. She can be reached at efitzge2 @ alumni.nd.edu
