John Cerasani was living his childhood dream of growing up in the Chicago suburbs and playing football. He was named an All-American player for his high school football team and was offered a scholarship to play for the legendary University of Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz. John was supposed to be the starting tight end on the University’s team, and his friends and family couldn’t have been more thrilled to see him have such success right out of high school. They were all celebrating and geared up in “Cerasani #89” sweatshirts and hoodies that his ever-proud father made. Then, one day, this dream fell apart. John had an off-season incident with another teammate that involved a physical altercation. While the coaches scolded him, they didn’t impose much consequence, which the family of the opposing teammate didn’t appreciate. John knew that in these situations, a student would either be suspended for the semester or expelled from the school entirely. Fortunately, it was only the former. However, that meant he couldn’t continue living out his dream of playing for the legendary Lou Holtz, which John describes as like “playing for a living legend” that he now reflects on with great fondness.

“Looking back now,” John says, “I probably should’ve just served my suspension and returned to Notre Dame the following semester. But as a 19-year-old, you think you know everything, and while I understood that rules needed to be put in place, I didn’t feel like the punishment fit the crime. I still don’t to this day, 25-plus years later.”

Having still been a young, bright-eyed teen who was confident that he could tackle anything, John decided to transfer to Northwestern University in Illinois. He had many people chirping in his ear to transfer to a school with more of a “fun factor,” like the University of Miami or the University of Nebraska, both of which carried that reputation at the time. However, John ultimately decided to attend Northwestern University and pursue his football career there.

“It cracks me up now because I really got the best of both worlds. If I want people to think I’m good at football, I tell them I played at Notre Dame. If I want them to think I’m smart, I say I went to Northwestern,” Cerasani says, laughing.