Notre Dame plays Louisville this coming weekend, so a lot of Cardinals fans might be watching “Rudy” to get in the mood. Among them is Mike Rutherford, the editor for Card Chronicle, the Louisville site for SB Nation.
Rutherford watched the movie many times growing up, and he has decided to dedicate an entire piece to why [autotag]Rudy Ruettiger[/autotag]’s father, played by Louisville native Ned Beatty, is the worst character in the entire movie.
Rutherford qualifies his comments by saying not much is known about how the senior Ruettiger was in real life. He then gives one specific example after another about how awful the on-screen senior Ruettiger is.
I can’t say it’s a completely unfair assessment. My late father-in-law, an avowed Notre Dame hater and Alabama fan who loved the outcome the 2013 BCS title game, was triggered by Ruettiger saying Notre Dame Stadium was “the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen”. Given that he was married and had built a family, it shows how he lacked perspective.
Just to drive the point homer, Rutherford makes his feelings known right off the bat when plugging the piece on social media (warning: NSFW language):
Louisville goes for two straight wins over Notre Dame on Saturday, which means it's time for your most important reminder of the week: Rudy's dad was the biggest asshole on the planet. https://t.co/UpT20VpkTI
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) September 25, 2024
So whether you agree with how this character carried himself or not, there’s a perspective out there that he was exactly not how a father should be. It definitely gives one cause to think.
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