SUMMARY

Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin) grows up in a Catholic, working class family that loves Notre Dame football.
He does not have the grades, the size or the talent to get into his beloved school so he follows his
brothers and father into work at the steel plant. After his twenty-second birthday his best friend Pete
(Christopher Reed) who always believed in him dies in an accident. Rudy then realizes that it is now or
never to follow his life-long dream to play for the Fighting Irish. Despite fear of failure from his father
(Ned Beatty) and girlfriend (Lili Taylor) he leaves to pursue his goal.

Showing up is not enough to get him into the university, so with the encouragement of a priest (Robert
Prosky), he enrolls in Holy Cross Junior College. There he gets help from a tutor (Jon Favreau) who helps
him deal with his reading disability and finally get good grades. He works on the maintenance crew
(Charles S. Dutton). Finally, Rudy gets accepted and upon transferring in to the school, he gets a chance
as a "tackling dummy" for the team for two years. Encouraged by his persistence and spunk, Rudy
inspires the team and is allowed to dress for one game by the coach (Jason Miller), where he is
triumphantly carried off the field by his fellow teammates. The story is based on the life of Daniel "Rudy"
Ruettiger.

Rudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to
overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.

Quotes

Fortune: You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you
hung in there with the best college football players in the land for 2 years. And you're gonna walk outta
here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to
nobody but yourself. And after what you've gone through, if you haven't done that by now, it ain't
gonna never happen. Now go on back.

Pete: Well, you know what my dad always said, Having dreams is what makes life tolerable.

Father Cavanaugh: [in church] Taking your appeal to a higher authority?

Rudy: I'm desperate. If I don't get in next semester, it's over. Notre Dame doesn't accept senior
transfers.

Father Cavanaugh: Well, you've done a hell of a job kid, chasing down your dream.

Rudy: Who cares what kind of job I did if it doesn't produce results? It doesn't mean anything.

Father Cavanaugh: I think you'll find that it will.

Rudy: Maybe I haven't prayed enough.

Father Cavanaugh: I don't think that's the problem. Praying is something we do in our time, the answers
come in God's time.

Rudy: If I've done everything I possibly can, can you help me?

Father Cavanaugh: Son, in thirty-five years of religious study, I've come up with only two hard,
incontrovertible facts; there is a God, and, I'm not Him.