So I have this tradition of running on gamedays (especially home games) at the Notre Dame campus. This Saturday was no different. Lots of people in from USC (getting ready to jeer at us a few hours later). I'm running around the main quad with lots of different dorms/campus organizations selling hot dogs, brats, pop, etc.
I look over my shoulder as I come to a sidewalk crossing and I see a group of well dressed, slightly older looking ready to cross my path. They politely let me pass. As I passed, a guy from the middle jokingly yells out, "Sorry! Duck crossing!" I awkwardly yell back, "Uh, yeah!"
As I looked back, I realize who it was that yelled. It was Hall of Famer, former Notre Dame QB, former Washington Redskins QB - JOE THEISMAN!
Very cool moment (except for the "uh, yeah!" comment). It's then that I realized how that encounter made me feel about Joe Theisman. I felt like Joe was literally an "average Joe" (pun intended) and down to earth. It was great. He could have said nothing, or let one of his entourage say something, but HE chose to engage.
The challenge to us, particularly those who perform on stage, is to combat attitudes that we are "snobbish" or "all that, and a bag of Fritos". Silence can often be seen as being "stuck up". We may need to go out of our way to engage people in order for them to see us as truly human (which we are). Thanks Joe for the reminder!
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