Every Friday in the fall, Tony Zappala and his former college football teammates send emails.
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Former East Paterson running back Tony Zappala, center, and his sons in front of the Golden Dome at Notre Dame.
It's been decades since they played their final downs for Notre Dame, but the passion has not receded. The emails help old teammates stay connected, and in recent years, they've helped them vent.
"We call it the Friday forum," Zappala said with a laugh. "It's where everybody complains about the team, and where it's going lately."
Talk to Zappala about his days at Notre Dame and there's not a lot to complain about. He was there for a national championship, a moment that lives on in sports lore forever, the emergence of one of the NFL's most legendary quarterbacks, Joe Montana, and he was a footnote to a story that ultimately became a Hollywood blockbuster.
"It was kind of the heyday of Notre Dame," said Zappala, who lives in Elmwood Park.
Back in the early 1970s, when Zappala was a standout running back on the East Paterson High School football team, he had no idea what awaited him at Notre Dame. He was just happy to have a group of friends to lean on during a tough time.
"The biggest thing I remember is my teammates and my friends," Zappala said. "They were like my family. My mom passed away when I was just starting my freshman year, so I kind of took them on as brothers and they helped me through my grief."
On the field, East Paterson was a dominant football team. It won state sectional titles in each of Zappala's four seasons.
His final high school season in 1972 was East Paterson's final as well. The town changed its name to Elmwood Park in 1973.
In the fall of that year, Zappala arrived on the Notre Dame campus and immediately made an impact on the scout team. But it wasn't his running that impressed coach Ara Parseghian. It was his defense.
"He told me, 'That's your best chance to get on the field,' " Zappala said. "And all I wanted to do was get on the field, so I played the rest of my years at defensive end."
Zappala made the travel team and was in uniform at the 1973 Sugar Bowl, when the Irish played Alabama. Notre Dame won that game to claim the national championship and earn Zappala a ring that he keeps in a safe place.
When Zappala was a sophomore, a new quarterback arrived on campus. Zappala could tell right away that Montana was something special.
"The players knew," Zappala said. "He was very quiet, very confident. When he got into the huddle, things would happen. It was amazing."
Montana didn't get the chance to start until 1977, the year after Zappala graduated. Montana led the Irish to a national championship, beginning one of the most storied quarterback careers in football history.
Zappala also played a role in one of the most fabled moments in college football.
When Zappala was replaced in a game against Georgia Tech on Nov. 8, 1975, he didn't think much of it. An undersized, dyslexic player named Rudy Ruettiger replaced him in the only game Ruettiger would suit up.
"That really did happen," Zappala said with a grin. "Rudy actually came into the game for me, took my spot in the game, and he actually sacked the quarterback at the end of the game. That's true. I was there; I saw it. I was a witness."
About 20 years later, the moment was made into the blockbuster movie "Rudy."
Zappala and Ruettiger remain friends to this day.
Zappala still lives in the town he grew up, even if the name is different. And he looks back at his playing days with a lot of pride and no regrets. At 6 feet, 210 pounds, Zappala says he was too undersized to play in the pros.
So right after college, he began working at Bergen Industrial Supply Co.; October will mark his 34th year with the company. He was lucky enough to meet his wife, Nancy, while on the job. They have three children.
Every year, Zappala makes the pilgrimage back to Notre Dame, where he reunites with old teammates and watches a game. In the years to come, he's hoping the members of the Friday forum will have much less to complain about.
