Yeah, this is what I do...
Editor's note: Every week, Ivan Maisel will explain how to perform a task integral to college football. It might happen on the field. It might happen on the sideline. It might have to do with tradition, or preparation, or the band, or the managers. But you'll go inside the sport as you never have before. Here goes:
There's really no reason to paint football helmets every week. They are made to absorb blows. They are made to collide with other helmets. There's no reason at all -- except pride and one of the great traditions in college football.
Notre Dame senior Matt McQueary is one of three senior managers of the football team. When you list cool campus jobs, include McQueary's. How many other guys do you know who have the keys to The House that Rock Built?
"I have to go to the locker room every day, be on the field for game day," said McQueary, a Science-Business major from Cincinnati. "I haven't been in the stands for a game since I was a sophomore. I haven't really missed it."
He estimates that he spends seven hours a day during the season on his duties as a manager, which he describes as both a full-time job and a joy. But there's only one part of his job that's been glorified on the big screen. There's a helmet-painting scene in "Rudy."
Time and the typical Hollywood flourishes rendered the scene not quite accurate. For one thing, the managers stopped painting the helmets on Friday night several years ago because doing the job on Monday made their lives easier.
"We used to have one helmet for both games and practices," McQueary said. "Now we have a practice helmet as well as a game helmet. We used to have to wait until Thursday or Friday to have game prep because their helmets were being worn for practice, but now that we have two sets, we can do it almost immediately after a game. Also, Mondays are days off for the players, which means no practice. If a helmet doesn't come out right the first time, we have plenty of time to fix it before a game or road trip."
On the Monday after a game, the managers meet at 2 p.m. at Notre Dame Stadium. On this Monday, after the Irish's 45-26 home defeat of North Carolina, the 21 junior managers and 65 sophomore managers arrived. They needed that many because home games mean more helmets to paint. The Irish dress 105 players for home games, 70 for away games.
"Two juniors and two sophomores focus on painting," McQueary said, "while the rest are responsible for taping and buffing the helmets."
The managers replace the 10 or so face masks that are too mangled to protect anyone's face any longer. Then they tape over the holes of each helmet and remove the inner padding to make sure that no paint gets inside. They cover the face mask in Saran Wrap and tape over it.
"The wrap makes removing the tape from the face mask much easier and provides a surface [that] paint cannot get through," McQueary said.
The managers remove the chin strap, as well as the American flag sticker and the NCAA sticker from the outer surface.
Then comes buffing, the time-consuming and elbow-grease-requiring portion of the process. Before they paint, the managers use lacquer to try to remove the scuff marks and smooth out the chipped paint from the previous game.
"The helmets from the offensive and defensive lines can get really beat up," McQueary said. "After the Navy game, we had to spend about an hour on them. We use the lacquer to make sure the paint will go on smooth. You take a rag and put a little lacquer on it. We buff off the ragged spots."
The painters apply a base coat of a color which McQueary referred to as "Real ND Gold." It is, alas, "very dull" according to McQueary. Then comes the magic. The managers apply a coat of gloss to the helmets. It comes to them clear. But like a southern chef making a pot of gumbo, the managers add something special: gold dust. And not just any dust.
Every 15 to 20 years, the golden dome atop the administration building -- yes, the golden dome -- is re-gilded. The gold dust that is stripped off the dome is collected and delivered to the football managers.
"We store it in a 5-gallon bucket," McQueary said. "We store it in the stadium. We keep it hidden away. We take a vat of regular gloss and mix in the gold dust. We use four level spoonfuls of gold dust."
Therein lies the magic.
"On the first play of the game, you get a cloud of gold dust," McQueary said. "Joe Montana is famous talking about it. The magic of Notre Dame is embodied in that dust."
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=2653942
Nice, McQueary...♥