Vince Vaughn seemed to be having fun as he referenced some of the popular films from his oeuvre during an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay.
The actor and longtime sports fan was the week 4 guest selector Saturday on the cable TV program that previews the day’s NCAA college matchups. During the episode, filmed from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, Vaughn made it clear that he is a big supporter of the school’s Fighting Irish, who will play the Ohio State Buckeyes in a high-profile episode later Saturday. match between two nationally ranked teams.
“This is kind of like picking kids for me,” Vaughn explained. “My dad is from (Ohio). My sister, born in Columbus. My niece goes to Ohio State. And you can’t talk about football without talking about the great state of Ohio.
He continued, “The Buckeyes have always been real. You can never doubt it. That said, I played for Notre Dame – I threw a pass (in Rudi). If I had Rudy’s heart, I would have been an All-American instead of sitting here playing games with you guys.
Vaughn — whose real-life sports pursuits didn’t extend beyond high school — even threw in a reference to his rules-oriented character from David Dobkin’s 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers when he added: “Rule No. 76: Play like a champion. The Irish will triumph today!” This led to enthusiastic cheering from the Fighting Irish faithful in the background.
Early in his acting career, Vaughn played Jamie O’Hara in David Anspaugh’s 1993 biographical sports film, which starred Sean Astin in the title role as Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger. During his Match day segment, Vaughn wore a jacket similar to the one he donned Rudi.
