4/27 Thank You

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

This has probably been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my life.  It took a lot more time than I thought it would, but our St. Baldrick’s event was a success.  We were able to raise over $40,000 at our event.  Through all of your help, I was able to personally raise over $10,000.

Many of you not only donated, but also passed along great messages to me.  You will never know how much those meant to me.  I can honestly say that having the privilege to play for this university was and will continue to be the greatest experience of my life, and you the loyal fans of this university are the biggest reason why it has been such a life changing experience.

Some other stats from the event:

295 men and women shaved their heads

99 men and women donated their hair

Over 400 men and women got extensions

54 Football players came out to shave their heads, with an additional 10 or so coming out to support the cause

Since so many guys came out to shave their heads, not all could stay for the final picture, but I’ve included a picture of 27 guys who were able to stick around.  26 of the guys in the picture shaved their heads, you’ll see Goody decided to get extensions…We still love the kid though.

A few other thank you’s I’d like to send out:

My parents and brothers, Andy, Sue, Chris and Nick, they’ve always been there for me and God only knows where I’d be without them.

Coach Weis, Coach Brown, and Coach Polian without these guys pushing for a five foot nothin, 100 pound walk-on to get on the field, none of these stories would have happened.  I owe these guys more than I’ll ever be able to repay them.

Chad Klunder, Tim McDonnell, and Dave Peloquin were instrumental in getting the word out to the guys, clearing everything with compliance, and helping me put this video together.

Coach Kelly was also big in pushing guys to come out and support the cause.

Reuel Joaquin and Tim Collins for helping me edit everything over at the gug.  Those two guys answered all my the dumb questions I had along the way, sometimes two or three times…They also spent a lot of time training me on the software, and doing some of the more technical aspects of the editing.

Mike York for helping me come up with and develop the idea as I searched for how to give something in return for people donating.

Mike Coffey and all the board operators over at NDNation, Tim Prister, Pete Sampson, and Jack Freeman at Irish Illustrated, Todd Burlage at Blue and Gold, and Tim O’Malley at Irish Eyes, and to the others who posted things on their sites about my blog, thank you for putting a link to my blog on your sites and helping spread the word.

Catherine Soler the newly elected student body president for reaching out last year to get us involved in this event, and then allowing us to take a much more active role this year.  This girl is only a sophomore, and I can honestly say I’ve never been more impressed with another individual at this school.

Dr. Michael Mantello for challenging me to get at least 30 guys to shave their heads, and if we did, he promised to donate $3,000. He’s already delivered on his promise.

Bryan Jackson for giving me input as I created this site, as well as helping me make a big push over $10,000.

Charles Cavanaugh for helping in a huge way to getting me to my goal of $10,000.

YOU THE FANS AND SUPPORTERS I can honestly not say it enough, but you guys are what makes playing for this university so special.  I know I probably say this too much, but a lot of college kids get to play in front of 80,000 fans each Saturday, but few can say they’ve played in front of 80,000 Notre Dame fans.  You guys have changed my life more than you’ll ever know.

I apologize to anyone I forgot to include, I can assure you it was not on purpose.

Thank you again for everything.  My Saturdays next Fall will definitely be tougher to get through.

Mike