Bragging on one of Fordham’s own at Super Bowl time

I’ve always considered it something of a coincidence that I ended up attending the same university as my favorite all-time football coach.  I was, after all, a Packers fan and devoted Vince Lombardi supporter for a decade before deciding on Fordham (to none of the fanfare that yesterday’s signing day football recruits received, I might add…) for my collegiate experience.

But maybe it wasn’t just happenstance, after all.  I think one of the main things that attracted me to Fordham was the tradition, the hallowed halls, the winding elms, all of the stuff that makes up the Alma Mater song, fit right in with my choice of favorite teams the Yankees and Packers.  Something about the old buildings on campus and the names of some of the alums, and being in the Bronx just felt right, and in retrospect was professionally and personally the absolutely correct choice for me.

Now, I don’t think it’s good or healthy or right to just live in the past, but it’s nice to go to a game at the Rose Hill Gym, the oldest continually active Division I basketball gymnasium in the country, celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, and think about how many games the old building has seen.  Times have been rough on the Rams the past couple of decades, and a key decision is upcoming after the season regarding a new basketball coach, so we loyal alums are hoping that better days are ahead.

A huge part of the Fordham Athletics identity is Vince Lombardi.  He was an original Fordham Hall of Fame inductee, and the school’s recreation center bears his name.  And every year around Super Bowl time, the whole sports world is reminded of the greatness of Lombardi through his namesake trophy.  Every once in a while, there’s even a Fordham “Seven Blocks of Granite” mention, and we alums stand a little prouder.

The Fordham athletic department has put out a nice brief history of Lombardi’s Fordham days with some thoughts by current Athletic Director Frank McLaughlin on the 1937 graduate’s legacy at the school.

When I see one of the coaches lift the Lombardi Trophy this year, like many other Fordham grads, I’ll be thinking not just of the current Super Bowl Champion, but of the man who won the first two.  One of our own.