1 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: Good morning, his game Theademic ninety three WIBC, And yesterday 2 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 1: we learned the news that beloved former Notre Dame football 3 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: coach Lou Holtz passed away. So I thought we would 4 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: get some insight from someone who didn't play football for 5 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: Lou Holtz, but he did Donna uniform and helped inspire 6 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: a large group of people. He also cheered on the 7 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: faithful while Lou Holtz was coaching. Reverend Father Andrew Bodzinski 8 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,840 Speaker 1: from Saint Matthew Catholic Church in South Bend joins us. Now, 9 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: long before you were ordained as a priest, you were 10 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: the Notre Dame leprechaun. Thanks for being here, Father Andrew. 11 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: Wondering if you could tell us what went through your 12 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: mind when you first learned of the news of Lou 13 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: Holtz's passing. 14 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 2: Oh, lots of memories, of course. He was such a 15 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 2: great influence on so many people. As so many people 16 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 2: have said, I was in middle school when he came 17 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,119 Speaker 2: to coach at Notre Dame, and he was really one 18 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 2: of my childhood idols. He was a football coach, he 19 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 2: was a winner, and he was also a fantastic teacher, 20 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:36,199 Speaker 2: teaching so many great life lessons. So I was going 21 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 2: through just many memories of of course football games. But 22 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,480 Speaker 2: then also, like you said, I had that great opportunity 23 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 2: when I was a student at Notre Dame to be 24 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 2: the leprechaun and to really get to meet him. On 25 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 2: a number of occasions, I would introduce him at the 26 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 2: pepper allys. That was really a thrill, and to shake 27 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 2: his hand right before he spoke every time, and then 28 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 2: also another time right before I started my tenure as leprechaun, 29 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 2: I just called his office and I said, could I 30 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 2: meet with you? I spoke to his secretary, Could I 31 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 2: meet with Coach Holtz? And she says, what about? Then 32 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 2: I had to come up with a reason, and I said, well, 33 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 2: I want to talk about the pep rallies and things 34 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 2: like that. And he welcomed me into his office and 35 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 2: he took about a half hour just to talk to me. 36 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 2: And I thought to myself later on, boy I really 37 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 2: wasted his time. You know, he's got so many more 38 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 2: important things to do. But he was so so gracious. 39 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 2: He was he was wonderful. 40 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: If I could be so bold. As I was thinking 41 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: about this, I noticed a lot of parallels between your 42 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: life and his. You both dedicated your life to service, 43 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: to community, to faith, to family, to inspiring large groups 44 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:02,359 Speaker 1: of people, and also to not football. I'm wondering if 45 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: you could speak on his faith it was. 46 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 2: It made a big impression on me. When he came 47 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 2: to Notre Dame. He talked about the lady on the 48 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 2: dome all the time, the Blessed Virgin Mother Mary, And 49 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 2: I remember hearing that as a kid, and you know, 50 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 2: even though he was the football coach, because he said 51 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 2: something like that, it made me realize even more so 52 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 2: I knew it a little bit, but it just emphasized 53 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 2: the point that Notre Dame is really about our faith 54 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 2: more than football. You know, literally, Notre Dame means our Lady, 55 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 2: meaning Mary, our mother. And so to hear his example 56 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 2: as a football coach, you know, speaking of his love 57 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 2: for his Catholic faith and the Blessed Virgin Mary made 58 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 2: an impression on me. Then I found out later he 59 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 2: went to Mass nearly every day. One time in an interview, 60 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 2: they asked him what's the best thing about being the 61 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 2: football coach at Notre Dame, and he said, it means 62 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 2: I can find a mask somewhere on campus every single 63 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 2: day and he did that, and that left a big 64 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 2: impression on me. 65 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: Father Andrew Bozinski is joining us from Saint Matthew Catholic 66 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:27,040 Speaker 1: Church in South Bend. He was previously the Notre Dame 67 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 1: Leprechaun while Lou Holtz coached. 68 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 3: Yeah, Father Andrew, can you talk a little bit about 69 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 3: Coach Holtz's speaking. I mean, he was such an incredible 70 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 3: speaker and just captured people's attention. Can you give us 71 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 3: some examples of that, or maybe give your perspective on 72 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 3: how he engaged people. 73 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 2: You know, one of the things I noticed right away 74 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 2: when he first came to South Bend was he talked 75 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 2: about the importance of setting goals. And he had made 76 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 2: a list in his life of one hundred and eight 77 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 2: goals that he wanted to accomplish, and then by the 78 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,279 Speaker 2: time he got to South Bend, he had accomplished something 79 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 2: like nearly a hundred of them. And I just thought, Wow, 80 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 2: that's really impressive. And I remember I sat down and 81 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 2: I wrote a list of goals I wanted to achieve too. 82 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 2: Now I haven't kept the list, you know, like him 83 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 2: or as faithfully like him too, But he always talked 84 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:32,160 Speaker 2: about the importance of setting goals. Overcoming adversity, achieving greatness, 85 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 2: and to do that with others, to do that with others. 86 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 2: You know, one of the things he did when he 87 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 2: came to Notre Dame was he took the last names 88 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 2: of the football players off the back of the jersey 89 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 2: because he says, you don't play for you, you play 90 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 2: for your teammate, you play for the guy next to you. 91 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 2: And boy is Adolesson that we need to learn in 92 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 2: culture today not to be so self centered and egocentric, 93 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 2: but to really be sacrificial to others. 94 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:00,479 Speaker 1: He was. 95 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, he was a great football coach and a great teacher. 96 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: From the Leprechaun perspective, going back many moons from your 97 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: unique vantage point, What did most fans misunderstand about him? 98 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 2: Hm, that's a great question. Misunderstand about him? 99 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: Or was he an open book? 100 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 2: I you know, he was very consistent. You know, he 101 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 2: had values that he stuck to in his life, faith 102 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 2: being chief among them, commitment to excellence as well, you know, 103 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 2: sacrificing for others. So I don't think he was really misunderstood. 104 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 2: I think he was just so consistent in everything he 105 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 2: did that you really saw, you really got what you saw. 106 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,919 Speaker 2: I heard that. You know, his players really had a 107 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 2: difficult time sometimes times playing for him because he could 108 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 2: be so rough on them in practice. But they said, 109 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 2: but later in life, when they realized how many lessons 110 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 2: they had he had taught them about being a good husband, 111 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 2: a good father, you know, a good person in the community. 112 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 2: They they loved him for that. So he was a 113 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 2: really consistent man. 114 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: In my opinion, What do you hope the younger Notre 115 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: Dame fans understand about the whole tiers. 116 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 2: That he was. He was really committed and loved his 117 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 2: players and the school. He of course wanted to win. 118 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 2: You know, he believed in excellence, and you know, we 119 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 2: should strive for excellence because God gives us so many 120 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 2: talents and gifts and we shouldn't waste them. But it 121 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 2: was more important to him that you love the people 122 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 2: that you live with and work with. One of his 123 00:07:55,480 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 2: famous the quotes that I heard him say was the 124 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 2: most important lesson a father can teach his children is 125 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 2: how much he loves their mother. Yes, oh, I remember 126 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 2: hearing that as a kid and being profoundly impacted by that. 127 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 2: And it's like you could tell he was a football coach. 128 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 2: But those were the most important things in his. 129 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: Life his family. 130 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,239 Speaker 2: In fact, I saw it just on an interview yesterday. 131 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:24,119 Speaker 2: Number one was faith, Number two was family. Number three 132 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 2: was football. Yeah, and that's how we should live. 133 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: We really appreciate your time this morning. Father Andrew Bozinski, 134 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,719 Speaker 1: also former Notre Dame Leprechaun. Speaking of quotes, I have 135 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: one that you said, whether you're a leprechaun or a priest, 136 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: you don't get to hide when the heat is on 137 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: against Christ and his church. And speaking of that, I 138 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: know you have to run off and give mass. Boy, 139 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: I'd love to have you back sometime because your life 140 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: is fascinating on its own. But I know that you 141 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:55,719 Speaker 1: have Mass with the children there at Saint Matthew. And 142 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: that's unfortunate because I was going to ask you if 143 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: Jim could give you his confession over the farm. 144 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 3: I don't think we ought have time for that for sure. 145 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 2: No, and you better pack a lunch than it's going 146 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 2: to take a while. 147 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: He wanted to talk about the Bartman game as well, 148 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,079 Speaker 1: that you and Jim went to years ago, saw the 149 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: Chicago Cubs play which turned into be an infamous game. 150 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,680 Speaker 1: But I said, no, we're talking about the passing of 151 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: Lou Holtz today. 152 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, we have to remember happy thoughts. 153 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you so much, Father Andrew. 154 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 2: Thank you, Casey and Jim. God bless you you too. 155 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 1: You're listening to ninety three WYBC.