Meeting Mike Brey — Notre Dame’s Mens Basketball Coach

Coach Mike Brey — I am far left, John is far right. Our friend Kevin is in the middle.

The night started like any other Thursday in Annapolis: We stopped in the local spot, Acme, for some drinks. The crowd and service was a little disappointing, so we didn’t stay long. We walked down the street to Fed House. A good crowd and live music was enough to keep us at the bar.

As we made our way to an empty spot at the bar, I noticed an older guy that looked familiar. I kept stealing glances as I entertained my two friends, but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I knew who he was. I asked my buddies if the guy looked familiar and neither of them recognized him, but I was determined. I knew I recognized him from the March Madness tournament, so I figured he was a college coach — I tried Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, etc, etc, etc. I finally just did a broad google image search for 2016 mens NCAA basketball coaches. On the fifth or sixth page I finally found the face I was looking for.

He turned out to look like Mike Brey from Notre Dame. For the next hour or so, my friends and I debated back and forth, pulled up several different photos, and argued if it actually was the coach.

At around 12:30am/1:00am, he finally got up to leave with his company (a good looking woman, assuming it is his wife, but honestly I have no clue what his wife looks like) and I introduced myself to him. I congratulated him on a good season and I enjoyed watching because I was a graduate of Notre Dame. As soon as I said it he began blasting me with Indiana-based questions. I impressed myself with how quickly I thought on my feet and we started to talk more locally. He recruited Steve Wojciechowski to Duke and he knew of Cardinal Gibbons.

He was a great guy (could have been the red wine he was drinking) and that little effort he made with me and my friends made me a fan. He’s a local guy, so next time rounds are on him — he does make $700k/year after all.