Football Is a Forté Family Tradition

November 1, 2007

Kathryn Hobgood
khobgood@tulane.edu

Before every Tulane football game he plays, Matt Forté gets three phone calls — one from his dad, Gene, one from his mom, Gilda, and one from his brother Bryan. Football is a family tradition in the Forté household.

“I talk to all three of them before every game. And they always give me advice. ‘We know you know what to do, but I’m just going to tell you!’” laughs Matt Forté, senior Green Wave running back who is leading the nation in rushing.

Gene Forté was a defensive tackle for the Green Wave from 1974 to ’77. Bryan, who is two years older than Matt, played linebacker for McNeese State.

And mom Gilda? She’s a football expert.

“She has watched so many football games that she understands everything about football,” says Gene. “If there’s a controversial call, she’ll know what results should be.”

Matt agrees. “She’ll tell you the rules quicker than I can tell you.”

When Gene Forté was recruited to Tulane by Coach Bennie Ellender in 1974, he was a prep All-America defensive tackle from Texas High School in Texarkana who’d led his team to a 9-2 record and a playoff berth. He was recruited by several schools, including Louisiana State, Southern Methodist, Texas A&M, Rice, Arkansas, Memphis State and Grambling universities, but chose to come to Tulane for its academic reputation and its location in New Orleans.

Gene was on the first Tulane team to play in the Louisiana Superdome as a sophomore in 1975, and in his senior year he was captain of the football team. (At 6 feet 3 inches and with a playing weight between 260 and 270 pounds, Gene was bigger than Matt (6 feet 2 inches and 223 pounds). But Gene was plagued with knee injuries that kept him out of commission for periods of time.

“I had three knee operations,” recalls Gene. “Two on the left knee in 1976, and in fall of 1977, after the sixth game I had to have surgery on my right knee.”

Perhaps those injuries are part of the reasons why Gene never pushed his sons toward the sport.

“My dad didn’t pressure me into playing football,” says Matt. “He used to tell me, ‘You know, baseball is a lot easier on your body.’ But I told him, ‘I love football.’”

“That’s true,” says Gene. “I didn’t try to push either of my sons into football. They loved all sports. Bryan loved soccer, and Matt was an excellent baseball pitcher. But, there’s something about football for us. To have three operations, and to keep trying, you’ve got to have a love of the game.”

As the Tulane Green Wave prepare to battle Tulsa’s Golden Hurricane in a nationally televised game on Saturday (Nov. 3), all eyes will be on Matt, who last week was named a Heisman Trophy candidate by CSTV.com.

He goes into the game leading the NCAA in rushing yards (1,539), rushing yards per game (192.38) and all-purpose yards per game (218.38). He’s currently on a four-game stretch with 200-plus rushing yards, which is one game shy of an NCAA record set by the University of Southern California’s Marcus Allen in 1981 and tied by Oklahoma State University’s Barry Sanders in 1988 and the University of North Texas’ Jamario Thomas in 2004.

“Comments about what he does on the field are good to hear,” says Gene, “but what really brings joy to my heart are comments about how good a person he is.”

That’s exactly the kind of support that will help 21-year-old Matt take all the attention in stride. And will he take his family’s pre-game advice?

“Yes, of course! They’re my family,” he says. “It’s good to hear from them before the game. I thank them for being so concerned and supportive during my athletic career.”