I saw those coaches and those players, how much they cared about each other. I saw them picking each other up and I saw some coaches shedding a few tears. It was a family atmosphere that reminded me of high school.

A few people have asked me, wandering if I might change my mind. But I keep telling them that I plan on enrolling at Notre Dame next fall.

The coach never promised me a starting position, but he did say that if I work hard enough, I'll see playing time. And maybe, in time, I could move up to a starting role.

I went up there for a visit, but I didn't have any intentions on making a decision just yet. Then I saw the game, I was around the players and coach (Charlie) Weis and the staff and other recruits and it just fit. It seemed right.

Whether it's fiction or nonfiction, writing takes me to another world.

While it was occasionally done here or there, nobody else had a figurehead like Walt doing it. Jack Warner wasn't on TV. Walt was the boss, but he had a real public profile and he used it to his advantage. And he became a household face.