ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“Your talent determines what you can do.
Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do.
Your attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz
Lisa Kelly had no choice but to love Notre Dame football. Her Dad is ND class of 65, and ever since she can remember Notre Dame football has been an integral part of her life. She learned her first colorful word at the tender age of three during the Notre Dame - USC game on a Thanksgiving weekend spent at her grandparents’ house. She and her family made annual pilgrimages from their California home to Notre Dame for football weekends with her dad’s college roommate and his family. Lisa followed in her father’s footsteps to Notre Dame class of 93, and made sure she took advantage of all that is great about Notre Dame from the classroom to the football weekends to dorm life. Most importantly she left armed with the tools needed to engage the world, living what she so aptly calls the Notre Dame Value Stream.
In 2011 Lisa was contacted via Twitter by an advertising agency that was promoting a contest sponsored by Volvo and the Big East Conference to determine the “Biggest Fan of the Big East Conference.” She was selected (along with 15 other alumni writers representing the 16 schools in the Big East Conference) to compete for the title of Biggest Fan. Basketball was not really her forte, but Lisa found the rights words and was crowned the “Biggest Fan of the Big East Conference.” She never expected to win this contest, but for Lisa losing is not in her vocabulary.
In Lisa’s experience people are quick to find the shortcomings of Notre Dame and she wanted to do something to showcase all that is great within Our Lady’s University. And that is how this book took shape. Her first interview was with former tight end Oscar McBride. In that interview she discovered how Notre Dame helped shape him into the man he is today. This was the beginning of something special. One interview led to another and it was clear that a theme was emerging. Even though Lisa and these former players all came to Notre Dame from vastly different backgrounds, they all had similar experiences and each credited their time at Notre Dame and the Notre Dame Value Stream with playing a huge role in molding them into the people they are today.
Lisa knows there are so many of these stories yet to be told and she hopes that you enjoy her journey through the lives of these Loyal Sons of Our Lady’s University. This book only touches the surface: Lisa looks forward to continuing the journey and sharing more remarkable stories of Her Loyal Sons … and maybe some of Her Loyal Daughters, too!
Cheers!
(Photos taken by Lynne Gilbert)
