Family Ties

It was the summer of 1965. The United States was dealing with the ugly realities of the Vietnam War, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was leading the civil rights movement, and Beatles “mania” was in full swing. All the while, two young men, fresh off their 18th birthdays, were preparing to leave home for the first time and tackle college life.

In the fall of 1965, their separate paths led them both to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. There, they both undoubtedly engulfed themselves with everything college life had to offer. I am sure that few parties went unattended, while classroom attendance seemed to be more of a chore. That fall, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame also made their way to West Lafayette. Although ranked number one, the Irish actually fell to the sixth ranked Boilermakers in a 25-21 battle.

The following year brought more success for the Purdue football team. Due to a conference rule which prohibited two consecutive trips to the Rose Bowl, a second-place finish in the Big Ten won the Boilers their first trip to the “Grand-daddy of them all” in January 1967. Certain that they would make it back again in the next few years, one of our young friends passed on the chance to go see the big game. On the other hand, our other young friend did make the trip out west with a group of fraternity brothers. Fun was had by all…too much fun, I suppose. The Boilers ended up beating USC 14-13. However, despite having a piece of the goal post from that game in his basement today, our young fan has a hard time recalling the events of that day! This Rose Bowl trip turned out to be a last hurrah of sorts for him as his allegiance would soon change. The next year, he transferred to the University of Notre Dame to begin his studies in architecture. As for the other focus of our story, well, unfortunately the Boilers never did make it back to the Rose Bowl during his remaining years at Purdue. Actually, it was not until 2001, when a Drew Brees led team made it back to Pasadena. This time he was certain not to miss out. He gathered his then grown three daughters and headed west to watch the Boilers take on the University of Washington.

During their short time together at Purdue, believe it or not, the young men's paths never crossed. Aside from sharing similar experiences during those first few formative years, their lives seemingly headed in different directions in the years to come. Although they both married and spent their honeymoons in Europe, while one graduated from Notre Dame, settled in South Bend and raised four children, the other went to law school after Purdue, settled in Indianapolis and raised three lovely daughters. Little did they know that their own children would bring them together 40 years after those carefree college days.

Bridget and I met in 2001, and shortly after began to recount the similar experiences that our fathers had. Since then, our families have shared many good times together. From holidays, birthdays and countless other celebrations, we have made many special memories during our time spent together. The instant bond between our dads, rooted in their common beginnings, and now strengthened by the addition of their twin grandsons, has been a very special thing for Bridge and I to watch.

I bring all of this up, of course, because this week Purdue travels to South Bend for a showdown at Notre Dame Stadium and Big Jim is heading up to stay with Granpa and Nana for the weekend festivities. Although we would love to be there and enjoy the weekend with everyone else, we know how lucky we are to have families who enjoy each other so much. Given the backgrounds of both of their grandfathers, this game will undoubtedly mean something special to Max and Tyler in the years to come. However, I have only one thing to say….GO IRISH!

Granpa Sam and Big Jim at their joint surprise 60th birthday party. One of the many fun times our families have shared.

Tyler (ND) and Max (PU) showing support for both of their grandpas' teams

No matter what the outcome of the game is, we'll all still be friends