Rudy has to be the most entitled sports movie protagonist I've ever seen. Claims it's been his dream since he was a kid to go to Notre Dame, and seemingly did absolutely nothing up until his senior year of high school to actually get himself there. When talking to the priest he says he's willing to make all of the sacrifices necessary and work 20 hrs a day. Did Rudy put hours and hours of studying in every night when he was in high school so that he could improve his grades to get in to ND? I know he is eventually diagnosed with dyslexia, but the movie doesn't even show us Rudy making any effort to get himself to the school that he claims is his dream. Did Rudy stay late after practice running drills or plays that he struggled with? Was Rudy putting in the work to get bigger/stronger/faster, or to play smarter? As far as the movie is concerned, he appears to realize he actually has to make an effort to go to school at Notre Dame when he is a senior in high school. He was getting on the bus in the beginning of the movie like they were just going to drop him off and say "have a good time!"

Rudy says over and over and over throughout the whole movie that he loves Notre Dame football so so much, as if that is all anyone needs to play for one of the biggest powerhouses in college football. I know sports movies love to make it all about "heart", but the characters that have enough heart to play are usually also the ones putting in hours and hours of extra practice/studying/all around effort to achieve their goal. Rudy basically begged a bunch of people to just give it to him.