My fate was sealed watching the Irish defeat Texas in the 1971 Cotton Bowl. Although members of my family had been making an annual pilgrimage to South Bend since the 1950's, but I was barely aware of football until that game. I was seven years old, laying on the floor in my grandfather's dining room. It was the beginning of a lifelong obsession with the game and with my Irish.

I wanted to play football for the ND. Unfortunately, I was two steps slow for my height or six inches short for my speed. I did take my shot. I made it only as far as the taxi squad, but my grades paid the price...so, "Rudy" I was not. Ultimately, keeping a scholarship and earning my degree won out. I did coach our Interhall team. I went on to be an assistant coach in High School and a Texas Middle School.

Coaching was in my blood. My grandfather coached Catholic League 7th and 8th Grade football for years. He was a CYO basketball coach. He actually coached Paul Hornung when he was a youngster. My uncle coached High School Football. When he was Head Coach, my father and his friends would scout my uncles opponents. I spent quite a few Friday nights watching Kentucky High School football.

Tim McGuire is a 1985 graduate of the University of Notre Dame. His wife Debra graduated from the University of Southern California. A recent retiree from the United States Marine Corps, Tim and his wife have settled in Kaneohe, Hawaii.