Jeff Jacobs: His mom walked with kings, but Greenwich's Jack Konigsberg happy running through tackles

GREENWICH — His 2005 birth was announced in an article in People magazine and his mom has walked with presidents and kings. So, surely, his Greenwich football teammates have a bunch of questions for Jack Konigsberg.

“They have no idea, no idea,” the senior running back said. “My close friends obviously know who my mom is. She’s always around. She’s very good with my friends, the community. My football team, I don’t bring it up. We talk football. We talk business around here. I know how impactful my mom has been and I feel that’s all that really matters.”

Konigsberg’s mom is Joan Lunden, who has known during her lifetime what it feels to be one of the most well-known women in America.

But we talk business around here, so business first: After being dramatically knocked off its perch as the No. 1 team in the GameTimeCT poll by Southington, 29-28, on Sept 24, the No. 5 Cardinals face No. 6 St. Joseph on Friday night in a highly meaningful FCIAC showdown.

Lunden, who has interviewed everyone from Ronald Reagan to now King Charles III, would be pleased with the honesty of her son’s assessment.

“That loss was a little bit of a wakeup call,” he said. “After the loss, the week of practice was the most intense and best week of practice we’ve had. We know going into the fourth quarter (against Southington) we were gassed. We needed better conditioning.

“After that loss, we looked up at the scoreboard at our home field and knew we never wanted to feel that again. We’re preparing against every team so we hopefully don’t have to go through that again and can carry on with a winning season. We could see them again in the playoffs. The rivalry doesn’t end.”

Konigsberg has run for 324 yards and five touchdowns in four games. George Vomvolakis has run for 346 and three TDs. They form the 1-2 punch in the Greenwich running game.

“Having two running backs that are very capable, it’s great,” Konigsberg said. “George is a great runner, a great athlete. He is able to make one cut and go. Great outside zone. I think I complement him very well. I like running through the tackles, inside zone. With our amazing O-line and some great play calls, we are able to get the job done.”

Jack and Kim are twins, the second set of twins of Jeff Konigsberg and Lunden born through surrogacy. Two years earlier, Max and Katie were also carried by surrogate Deborah Bolig and born in the same Cincinnati hospital. Max and Katie attend Lafayette. Lunden has three daughters from her previous marriage and were very much a part of her story from her time at ABC’s Good Morning America.

That’s sufficient personnel for a 7-on-7 passing league team.

“Growing up, everyone in my family was a soccer player,” Jack said. “It took, I think, two years to finally convince my dad to let me play football (in the Greenwich Youth League). In a family where we have very few football players, there’s a lot of doubt. People are scared of the unknown a little bit.

“Finally my dad let me play football and he along with me fell in love with the sport. He’ll be at every game. He loves it so much. As soon I started playing, I knew it was the sport I wanted to play in high school, in college, the sport I wanted to surround myself.”

Konigsberg, who also plays volleyball at Greenwich, wants to play college football.

“As of right now it’s whether a team pursues me,” he said. “I want a team that wants me. I want a team that I feel I can join a new brotherhood. I have no idea where that will be yet.”

After initially attending Greenwich High, Jack’s twin is at Greenwich Country Day School. Kim plays volleyball, squash and tennis, although she doesn’t plan to pursue sports in college.

“Going to different schools has distanced us a little bit, but it makes my time with her at home that much more appreciated,” Jack said. “The distance makes us closer in a way. I love my family. I love my twins. We’re a big family but a close family.”

Jeff Konigsberg, the long-time owner of Camp Takajo in Maine, played basketball at Lehigh. He and Lunden married in 2000.

“My dad, I’m very close with,” said Jack, 6-foot-1, 225 pounds. “He’s the person who got me into sports, the passion for and the love of sports. He never forced anything upon me. He did push me (in the sense) that if I put in the effort I could succeed in sports. After my love from basketball switched to football, instead of being mad, he was understanding and he helped me get what I needed to do.”

Lunden co-anchored Good Morning America from 1980-1997, mostly with Charlie Gibson. She traveled the globe, covered the world’s major events, did big interviews and everything from bungee jumping to paragliding on the show. In a time before a zillion cable channels and vast social media platforms, Lunden had to be one of the 20 most recognizable women in America.

“It’s funny, we’ll go out and my mother will casually bring up a story about different people,” Konigsberg said. “Like interviewing a president or some actor or being close to Oprah. I’m like what’s going on? And then I realize my mom is as influential as some of those people, and it becomes a little less shocking. My mother has accomplished an awful lot.”

In 2014, Lunden revealed on GMA that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She battled through 16 rounds of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation. She appeared bald on the cover of People.

“I don’t think I give my mother enough credit for all her accomplishments and in an era when women were not as predominant,” Konigsberg said. “She was a key role model. It’s great to see people and some of the older generation come up to us at dinner and recognize my mother. It makes me so proud to be her son.

“As a mom, I couldn’t ask for anything more. She comes to all my games. I’ve gotten closer to my mother over the years. I’m very appreciative of my parents.”

Lunden has spoken nationally about surrogacy over the years. As often is the case with embryo transfer, there were twins both times. Two by two, she once said, her Greenwich home was like Noah’s Ark.

“I’m open to talk about,” Konigsberg said. “Obviously it impacted who I am today, but I’ve kind of shallowed away from the conversation a little bit. I’m educated on it. But it doesn’t impact me as much because I know my mother is always there for me. Growing up I’ve always been with her.

“It never was hidden from me. I found out at a young age and was like alright. I was understanding of it.”

He’s also understanding that attending Greenwich High means running into other kids with famous parents. Over the years, for instance, the sons of Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford, Tiki Barber and Aaron Boone all have played on the football team. Boone’s sons still do.

Do your teammates talk to Sergot and Brandon Boone about the Yankees manager?

“Obviously,” Konigsberg said. “We have a whole bunch of Yankee fans.”

jeff.jacobs@hearstmediact.com; @jeffjacobs123