Travellers passing through the Matfield Green Service area in Chase County will now be welcomed by the smile of a college football icon.
Friday morning the Kansas Turnpike Authority unveiled a new memorial inside the service area dedicated to legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. Rockne was one of eight men who tragically died in 1931 after a plane crash near Bazaar.
Before his death, Rockne led Notre Dame to three national championships and collected over 100 wins as head coach. KTA Director Steve Hewitt says the memorial is meant to help preserve both Rockne’s legacy and the significance of history.
He explains the memorial will allow Rockne’s message of positivity to be shared with the millions of individuals who travel through the service area each year.
Along with the KTA representatives, other notable individuals in attendance included sculptor Jerry McKenna who created the bust of Rockne now sitting in the service area. Along with McKenna was former All American Notre Dame Running Back Reggie Brooks, University of Kansas sports management lecturer Dr. Bernie Kish and Rockne’s grandsons Knute Rockne III and Nils Rockne.
Knute III says the memorial instils a sense of pride in his family, not just for the impact his grandfather, a Norwegian immigrant, had on the sport of football, but the world as a whole.
During the ceremony, Nills Rockne shared a prayer with those in attendance often quoted by his grandfather. Along with the bust sculpted by McKenna, the memorial also has a local touch as the pedestal for the memorial was constructed by Granada Coffe Company owner Rocky Slaymaker who was also in attendance for the unveiling.
Rockne Prayer to Play Fair in the Game of Life
Dear Lord,
In the battle that goes on through life
I ask for a field that is fair,
A chance that is equal with all in the strife
The courage to do and to dare,
And if I should win, let it be by the code
My faith and my honor held high
And if I should lose, let me stand by the road
And cheer as the winner goes by.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon/KVOE News
{gallery}Knute Rockne memorial dedication{/gallery}
