Tommy Zbikowski was always one of my favorite Notre Dame players.  Who couldn’t like a Polish kid from Chicago, who had a chip on his shoulder and was just as fast and a better player than many of the other more highly-recognized recruits among college football.  His eventual All-American status sealed his Notre Dame legacy and earned him a coveted career in the NFL that spanned five seasons.  Zibby had a toughness and attitude not often seen in many players, characteristics honed in a boxing ring prior to his NFL career, as he had more than one hundred amateur bouts under his belt already before his football career started.

In 2006, thanks to his rising celebrity in the football world, he made his professional boxing debut at none other than the boxing Mecca of Madison Square Garden, earning his first professional bout on the undercard of an impressive pay-per-view event.  I was lucky enough to be in attendance that evening, being offered a ticket by my now good friend, John Carlson, the dad of Notre Dame Football team captain John Carlson.  I do remember feeling old that night when I was introduced to his behemoth tight end son John Carlson, who was about to embark on his own successful NFL career, and yet was polite enough to greet me as “Sir,” at which point reality snapped back in and I recalled that I was indeed far closer to his father’s age than to his. 

After sneaking down low not far behind ringside (I sat a few rows behind Yankees’ catcher Jorge Posada and his lovely wife, who were there to see the main event featuring fellow Puerto Rican champion Miguel Catto,) I sat in the section where many of Zibby’s fellow Notre Dame Fighting Irish teammates sat and cheered in support of their gridiron brother who was now attempting to conquer a second sport.  After an impressive but almost absurd sub-one-minute first round victory, I shared hi-fives with the likes of Jeff Samardzija, Brady Quinn, Justin Tuck and Anthony Fasano and many of his other Irish teammates.  After watching the classic main event, I quickly relocated to Foley’s Tavern down the street, where the entire Notre Dame contingent had gathered to celebrate with the victorious Tommy Z.

Before I left Foley’s that evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Zbikowski, Tommy’s dad, who was as proud as anyone in the city that evening, and probably as hammered as anyone in the city as well.  He was far more thrilled to hear that I was a career firefighter than a Notre Dame alum, and we discussed firefighting and I learned that numerous members of the Zbikowski clan were also veterans of the Chicago FD.  He insisted that I take his cell phone number, as he wanted to introduce me to his son as a Notre Dame firefighter, as Tommy Z had yet to arrive and was still conducting his post fight interviews and press conference.  Unfortunately, I had to leave early, a victim of the last train out of Manhattan, as the City that Never Sleeps is served by New Jersey Transit trains that most definitely do between the hours of 2am until 5am.

As the years went on, boxing was put on the backburner as Tommy’s NFL career took hold.  During the NFL strike that ensued in 2011, Zibby was temporarily released from the constraints of his NFL contract and was able to squeeze in four more bouts, and four more victories.  During those subsequent years, I did eventually have my opportunity to formally meet Tommy, as we were both in attendance at a Notre Dame dinner that honored a number of firefighters who had served in some capacity during the events of 9/11.  We casually gabbed about firefighting and I told him the story of having met his dad the night of his first pro fight.  In all honesty as I recall, I think Tommy may have been half in the bag that night.

Well, as the story played out, Zibby’s NFL career came to a somewhat abrupt end when as he disclosed, he lost his love of the sport and admitted to an alcohol addiction problem that was clearly getting the better of his once-effortless athletic prowess.  I tried to keep updated on his personal journey, but was gladly caught off guard when I heard the eventual news that he had completed rehab, was sober once more, and was officially joining as a member of the Chicago Fire Department, thereby joining myself and a very few others in the club of Notre Dame grads who have chosen the ranks of career firefighters.

When I headed out to Notre Dame last fall for my annual football game visit, I made sure to contact Mr. Zbikowksi and we discussed Tommy’s Chicago FD experience thus far.  He had been assigned to Truck 22 and I had hoped to stop in his firehouse to say hello, but it didn’t come to be, as he was scheduled to work on Saturday when I would be in South Bend for the game.  I promised to stop in on my next visit to Chicago, which should hopefully take place sometime this year.  While I am not certain of the process of imbedding a video link on this blog, here is the URL address for a short video produced by NBC Sports that details Tommy’s latest chapter in his far from completed journey.  You may have to copy it and insert it into your browser, but it is an interesting 4-minute piece. 

http://sportsworld.nbcsports.com/tom-zbikowski-into-the-fire/

Which brings us finally to the point of this essay; this evening Tommy will once again enter the ring and resume his boxing career.  He is soon to turn 31-years old, he is back to his rock-chiseled physique, and he still has the highly competitive drive that he hopes will propel him to a possible title fight next.  Mr. Zbikowski has been texting me for the last few weeks informing me of the event and I’m almost sorry I can’t be in Chicago tonight to cheer him on, but rest assured Tommy Z, myself and your brother firefighters will be cheering loudly in New Jersey.