Playmaker in the House: Sam Hartman

Not sure what I like more—an athletic celebrity sighting on my own or seeing athletes and coaches in attendance at other sporting events. Whether it's a few Forty Niners at a Warrior game after a big win, golfers in the stands at Wimbledon before the British Open, memories of Kobe Bryant with his daughter at UConn game—it makes sense that athletes show up in support of other athletes. And, I loved nothing more than seeing Irish quarterback, Sam Hartman and two teammates at the Notre Dame Women's basketball game.

This is not the first time Notre Dame football players have been at Purcell Pavilion for Irish women's or men's hoops. In recent years, schools have been vocal and intentional about getting coaches and teams to support other programs with their presence. When I was in Athletics, I know how hard we worked to build a culture—rooted in our community values, shared by all the programs. While training, practice, team meetings, and travel are to be considered, the field of competition reveals character and culture above all. Therefore, we wanted teams to be in the stands, cheer for their friends, yell for the Irish and have fun. Talk about winning.

The caption under the photos said "Playmakers in the house!" Reading that message and seeing these photos, I wish I was too. In response, one comment said "he's just another student.... Jesus!" While those words are certainly true, they're also not true.

Sam Hartman is not just another student. He's QB1. Were I a current student at Notre Dame and he was my classmate, our realities would be totally different. Remember, Hartman is an athlete for whom Notre Dame stadium played Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" over the loud speaker at the Wake Forest game—on his "other" senior day. The love prompted the Demon Deacons coach, Dave Clawson to say,

Here's a guy [Hartman] we recruited and we developed, and they are putting on a video of him, saying 'We will always love you.' I'm like, you only dated him for a couple of months. It can't be love. We are the ones who love him. We had five years with him. You rented him for a season. They bought him and rented him for a year, and now they love him. When that video played, it's just like, holy cow, this is where college football is.

Hartman, a Wake Forest transfer has played in only 11 games for the Irish, but the love is real.

Like most love stories, let's be honest: the timing was right. "Coach Free" and his program have established roots. Hartman came in with experience, a strong arm and great hair. Although the season didn't go exactly as planned, we loved him because we felt like it actually might. Furthermore, it's noteworthy that he's a part of student life when he could easily be in Phoenix training for the combine. His presence (and his beard) turn heads. We pay attention and take notice. So let's do as he and two of his teammates did—show up for others and reveal character and a culture worth standing behind. 

Photo Credits
@NDWBB
with Coach Free