Benet linebacker John Weidenbach doesn’t have to strain to hear the voice of his father, Joe, over the roar of the crowd during home games at Benedictine University.
That’s because dear old dad has an advantage over every other parent in the stadium. He’s the public address announcer.
“Being able to hear him is awesome,” John Weidenbach said. “It’s a familiar voice, obviously, and I like it. He’s a great speaker.”
John Weidenbach has given his dad a lot to shout about lately. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound senior, who is in his fourth varsity season and first as a co-captain, leads the Redwings (1-1) with 33 tackles, including three for loss, and a fumble recovery.
Joe Weidenbach frequently finds himself announcing his son’s name.
“I feel bad sometimes because you don’t want to be sitting here pumping your own kid up, but it’s fun,” Joe Weidenbach said. “I love it. I might do it even after John graduates.”
Joe Weidenbach has sent all six of his children to Benet. He had no announcing experience until Benet athletic director Gary Goforth asked him to do it when Weidenbach’s oldest son, Joe, was on the team.
“I said, ‘You want a dad doing it?'” Joe Weidenbach recalled. “He didn’t want an administrator doing it.
“I have a cohort of guys who will be my spotters, which is key.”
Football has played a key role in the family. John Weidenbach’s three older brothers — Joe, Charlie and Henry — all were standout defenders for Benet.
Joe and Henry played safety, while Charlie was the ESCC defensive player of the year as a linebacker. Joe and Charlie both played at Dayton, while Henry helped Benet reach the Class 7A state semifinals in 2016 and 2017.
All three work for Ernst and Young and attend John Weidenbach’s games.
“They got me tough and still tell me pointers,” he said. “We all fell in love with the game when we were young. I started when I was in kindergarten.
“Being able to play under the lights where all my brothers got to play is awesome. My mom (Amy) and dad get to watch.”
The Weidenbach family also includes his sisters Grace and Adrienne, a Benet freshman. The family has a rich football tradition, as John Weidenbach’s father and grandfather Chuck both played high school football in Michigan.
A great-uncle, Jack Weidenbach, was athletic director at Michigan from 1990 to 1994. Weidenbach Hall, a building on the Ann Arbor campus, is named for him.
That’s not all that connects the Weidenbach men. All of them wore No. 9 in high school. That number is reserved for seniors at Benet, so John Weidenbach is donning it for the first time this season.
That is especially meaningful for him because his grandfather, a Korean War veteran, died July 4 at age 91.
“It means a lot to be able to wear it my last year,” John Weidenbach said. “Everything means a little more your senior year. You’re locked in.”
That’s true even in practice, according to junior receiver Pat Pitello.
“It’s scary blocking him,” Pitello said. “When I have to run across the middle, I’m deathly afraid of being hit by him.”
Benet coach Pat New said there is good reason for that.
“He’s a tough kid,” New said. “He’s always been that way. I remember watching him when he was in peewee football. He’s always been a great linebacker.”
John Weidenbach has interest from Division I Football Championship Subdivision programs like Dayton, Drake and Illinois State, and he has an offer from Roosevelt, which will move up to Division II next year.
His graduation will mark the end of an era at Benet.
“It’s been a great football family for our program,” New said. “They’ve all been really great additions, and John is the last of them.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
