Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75541 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From the Publisher
"We're likely to lose the first game that's been lost on our home grounds in 25 years. That's a fine story you'll be able to tell your grandchildren. You once had the honor of disgracing Notre Dame." --Knute Rockne, addressing his team

"I'm convinced that's how Dracula sucks blood out of people's necks, that's what happened to Joe when he was born, and the blood was replaced by ice water." --Dan Devine discussing Joe Montana

"It was pretty amazing to be able to go to work at Notre Dame Stadium each day. Being here for as long as I have, sometimes you take for granted what a special place Notre Dame is, but it has come to mean more and more to me as I get older." --Tim Collins

From the Inside Flap
With rather inauspicious beginnings in 1887, the Notre Dame football program did not garner much success until the arrival of Knute Rockne in 1918. Since then, Notre Dame has created a dynasty that is virtually unbeatable.

While the University of Notre Dame's football program is not the oldest, nor is it the largest, the school does possess one of the most successful and most fascinating college football legacies in the nation. Peopled with such luminaries as Ara Parseghian, Knute Rockne, Joe Theismann, and Joe Montana, it is no wonder that the history of Notre Dame football is a seemingly boundless, larger-than-life entity.

"Then Ara Said to Joe..." explores this entity in a way that has never been done before. This book does not merely scratch the surface, recounting the same old stories that have been repeated time and again. "Then Ara Said to Joe..." delves deep into the little-known stories and the behind-the-scenes conversations of the last 90 years of Fighting Irish football.

Read some of the biting satire that Knute Rockne often used to motivate his team, both on and off the field. Learn what two former Notre Dame superstars became Supreme Court justices. Get the inside scoop from numerous interviews with greats like Roger Valdiserri, Joe Montana, and Jerry Groom. In "Then Ara Said to Joe..." you will discover how Knute Rockne became employed by Studebaker. Learn why a group of former Notre Dame football players traveled to Hamburg, Germany, to play one last game. Read about Joe Montana's preternatural comeback abilities.

"Then Ara Said to Joe..." takes you inside Notre Dame football, giving you a new perspective. This book is a testament to the Fighting Irish family, tradition, and history. It is a rare opportunity to see what it's really like on the field and behind closed doors at Notre Dame. "Then Ara Said to Joe..." includes an exclusive CD that contains rare audio play-by-play of one of the greatest bowl games ever played: the 1973 Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Alabama. At the time, it was billed as the "game of the century" between the two undefeateds, and ESPN.com has ranked it "the fifth greatest bowl game of all time."

About the Author
A native of South Bend, Indiana, John Heisler has been following Notre Dame football since 1964, when he first started regularly attending Irish games in Ara Parseghian's first year as head coach. Heisler joined the Irish sports information staff in 1978, was named sports information director in 1988, and currently serves as senior associate athletics director for media and broadcast relations. He has been a part of four other books on Notre Dame football: The Fighting Spirit (with former head coach Lou Holtz), Quotable Rockne, Gerry Faust's Tales from the Sidelines, and Echoes of Notre Dame Football.

Customer Reviews

Do you want to know the secrets of the Fighting Irish spirit?
This is The story of Notre Dame football. If you don't know what it is to have the Fighting Irish heritage and want to know, no feel and believe and live what it is about this is the book for you. It would interest anyone who loves the game of football, or even wants to understand what the pure love of the game is - the real game not the hyped up big screen sports of today. Hear what the beloved coaches have said and be there. Even if you have never been to a Notre Dame Fighting Irish game, you will know what the spirit is about. If you never really "got" what the movie Rudy was about this will be your teacher. It also contains a CD of one of the greatest Notre Dame games ever played.