Global Football President and former Fighting Irish quarterback Pat Steenberge will sign copies of his book Tupande Kileleni: Let’s Climb to the Summit Together at the Hammes Bookstore on the campus of the University of Notre Dame at 6pm on Thursday, November 12 and from 3.30pm-5pm on Friday, November 13.
Steenberge will discuss the inspiring story of how his company Global Football organized the 2011 Global Kilimanjaro Bowl, which evolved from being the lofty dream of a college coach to become the first college American football game ever staged on the African continent.
Steenberge (ND ’72) played under legendary head coach Ara Parseghian and his game-winning two-point conversion pass to beat Purdue in 1971, known as the ‘Genuflect Play’ was immortalized as the number 13 play among 125 years of Notre Dame football.
The book tells of how student-athletes from the United States and Mexico showcased the sport they love to an eager crowd of 12,000 intrigued Tanzanians, key political leaders and a worldwide TV audience, then bonded while serving the local community and ascending the iconic Mount Kilimanjaro. This dream came true through leadership, teamwork and international cooperation among visionary, dedicated men and women in Tanzania, Mexico and the United States.
“In January 2010 Coach Chris Creighton of Drake University came to me with his dream, to take his football team to Tanzania to compete, to serve, to experience and to summit Mount Kilimanjaro,” explains Steenberge. “On May 26, almost 18 months later, 134 of us stood together on top of the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, as one team.
“This story should inspire everyone who reads it to dream, believe, persevere and work in cooperation with others. As the sub-title reads, it will motivate folks to Create your Team; Develop their Dream.”
The presentation and book signing will commence at 6pm on Thursday, November 12, in the Hammes Bookstore café and Steenberge will also be available fro 3.30-5pm on Friday, November 13 to sign copies of Tupande Kileleni: Let’s Climb to the Summit Together in the bookstore lobby.
The book is available from Amazon and an e-book version can be downloaded or a paperback copy ordered through Tate Publishing. Proceeds from book sales will go to fund future fresh water wells in Tanzania’s Singida Region through the Global Football Foundation, with the first well funded and completed in 2013.