High school football 'Rudy' Awards inspire ... with a great Jersey twist

BY JOE FAVORITO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING

"Rudy."

Great story, great movie. Yes, the real Rudy is a bit over the top, but that's another story. "Rudy" resonates with people on so many levels — the account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles.

The stirring story has given rise for others to have their story told and be inspiring to those around them today.

So last week, as Alabama's Mark Ingram was winning the Heisman Trophy, the finalists for the High School "Rudy" Awards were announced. It was time to help give these real life overachievers a bow, and congratulate those who came up with the idea and the criteria for selecting the winners.

The "Rudy" honorees come from all over the country, all walks of life, and all have amazing stories of how they have overcome great challenges to play high school football. A $10,000 academic scholarship and the inaugural RUDY Award goes to the winner, with $5,000 scholarships going to each runner-up.

Two of the semifinalists hailed from the Garden State — Bobby Keeney, a senior linebacker/running back from Pinelands Regional High School in Tuckerton, and Chris Kania, a sophomore lineman from East Brunswick High in East Brunswick.

The stories range from kids who have overcome disabilities of every level to those who just outworked their peers for the love of the game. They never had to be the stars, but they inspired and led by example and made indelible imprints on all those who they touched.

The award and the program is in its early stages, and naturally started with football, given the ties to the award's namesake and the sport. If the right brand support can be found, the ability to take the "Rudy" to other sports is a natural. It celebrates all that is good about competition at its base level, and hopefully with media support can grow beyond its first year. It is also very interesting that the awards come along at a time when interest in high school sports is at a premium. ESPN has launched its series of local stations covering high schools, MSG Network has launched MSG Varsity, and others will soon follow. The "Rudy Awards" could be a great fit for any programming partner, locally, regionally and eventually nationally.

The fact that the award finalists were announced on Heisman Weekend should also not be lost. As the finalists paraded through New York and across CBS for college football's most coveted individual award, the "Rudy's" remain at home watching and enjoying. While the Heisman does involve both character and athletic ability, the "Rudy's" are all about character, with the biggest ability being inspirational. Are there parallels and potential connections between the two in the future? Perhaps. Are there awards already existing with similar platforms like the Arete Awards, shown on CBS every fall? Yes. But from a branding standpoint the casual sports fan and marketer understands what "Rudy" is, and the stories that follow make it a natural for those looking for a platform that transcend sport. There may be one Heisman winner, but the "Rudy" award could create a much bigger local footprint at a time when sports are becoming more and more local, especially here in New Jersey.

The "Rudy" selection committee included Jim Mora Sr., former Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints Head Coach; Andrea Kremer, NBC Football Sideline Reporter; Shaun Alexander, former Seattle Seahawks running back and NFL MVP; Drew Bledsoe, former New England Patriots quarterback and four time Pro Bowl selection; Jenn Brown, Inside the NFL Special Correspondent / ESPN GameDay Correspondent; Mike Smith, the 7th all-time winningest High School Football Coach in America; and Andy Beal, President CBS MaxPreps, Inc.

Joe Favorito has over 23 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. Visit him at JoeFavorito.com.