NEED TO KNOW
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Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman spoke to reporters about a fan whose father died during the team’s Nov. 15 game
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Freeman said it “hit” him when the man’s son called it “the perfect death” after the man died watching his favorite team with those he loved
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The head coach shared how he used the fan’s death to motivate his players to “put on a performance worthy of” fans’ hard-earned money
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman delivered a powerful message about motivation after learning about a fan whose father died while watching the team play the Pittsburgh Panthers on Nov. 15.
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Speaking a press conference on Nov. 24, the Fighting Irish head coach, 39, shared the lesson he instilled in his players after learning about a young man named JJ, whose father “passed away at the Pitt game,” Freeman told reporters.
“They talk about his father died ‘the perfect death.’ He said he was at a Notre Dame game with his family,” Freeman explained.
“It hit me, like, the gratitude I have for this opportunity, but it also reminded me it’s going to be somebody else’s first game watching our team play on Saturday, and sometimes you need to remind yourself of that.”
James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Marcus Freeman on Nov. 22, 2025 in Indiana
Freeman, who became the first Black head coach to compete in a college football championship in January, said it can be easy to “take it for granted sometimes” that they get to compete on the national stage, “and we can’t take it for granted,” he said, explaining that he thought learning about the fan and his father “was a way to remind” his players about what motivates them on the field.
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“Yes, team glory matters for each other, and if that ain’t enough motivation to get you to practice, let me remind you about the seniors,” he said, using the team’s seniors who are experiencing “their last guaranteed opportunity” in college football.
Freeman said he reminded his players that if playing for those seniors “ain’t important to you, let me tell you about this young man that lost his father at the Pitt game.”
“We have an obligation to make sure we put on a performance the right way, because it’s the lifelong dream of some person that’s going to see our team play, and we have an obligation to make sure we give it our all,” he said. “A performance worthy of what that kid or adult paying their money to come watch you play.”
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Concluding his remarks, Freeman said he advised his players, “You better value what Saturday brings to you, because then you’ll do the work in the moment.”
Next, the Fighting Irish will travel to California to take on the Stanford Cardinals on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Read the original article on People
