Looking to get some prayers and love for my father who passed away. He was the son of Edward J. Hickey, a shining graduate of ND Architecture + Engineering and a basketball player in the mid 30's. My dad was adopted from Evanston by him and his wife to settle in Logansport, close enough for my dad to go to every single home game in the 50's before they moved to Milwaukee in 1957. All of my first memories in life are ND, and he raised me to love all the wonderful things ND had and still has to offer. I grew up basically exactly like Rudy(in the movie) except in Milwaukee, memorizing Knute's famous speeches when I was 5 years old and reciting them to my dad, who would cry because I know it reminded him his childhood with his father. My first memories are the 87 season even though I was only 4, but by that time I had the fever which turned into a pandemic in my life during the National Championship season. Many of the best times I shared with my father were usually ND related, ups and downs quite often with Bob, Ty and Charlie to be frank, but still magical nonetheless. For this reason I wanted to share this with the board, because we were all in this together. I started at UW Madison in 02, and I would often see Barry Alvarez on his walks when going between engineering classes, more than one occasion I walked up and asked him if he would go back and pick up where Lou finished off :) He was very cordial, and always chuckled. I could tell he wished his fanbase could be like us, and that's saying a lot for another great program he revived from the ashes of the 30's. Just an example of how I lived my life like many of you, constantly taking crap for being a diehard Irish fan. I wouldn't change a single thing about any of that, and I know you all understand.
Another fun note, My dad was a youth football coach, and for the decade + his teams were dominating. Play Like a Champion signs were a staple for us boys, and he brought that magic that classical ND coaching had taught him. The messages I get from his former players have been absolutely wonderful, reminiscent of how Lou's players comment on his tutelage. This has really helped me get through this. Our last game in South Bend was Nov. 13, 2010 vs Utah and we did get to walk the whole campus. I could go on and on here for you all but I'll just keep it short, thanks to you all and thank you to god for letting me be with him for 40 years.