As I said before, I love Notre Dame. What I don't love is the elitist attitude that the average ND fan exudes these days. I understand that ND has a great and storied history in college football. I also understand that they have other rivalries, but what I can't understand is why ND fans constantly and incessantly downplay the rivalry with BC. It makes sense when you see how many ND fans treat non-ND fans. You watch the "holier-than-thou" routine at every tailgate at every game at Notre Dame stadium. And they justly deserve to be proud of their school and its tradition. Those campus walls house some of (if not the) greatest College Football traditions in history. But to constantly put down every other school as inferior is assinine and leads to the "Duke-treatment" that many ND fans get from other fans, from equally great storied programs.
Notre Dame has great rivalries with many schools it plays, it comes from the long history of big-time play that ND has. The ND-USC game is probably the best rivalry College Football has ever known. But that doesn't mean there is no place for this great roman-church rivalry to fit in.
The Battle for the Ireland Trophy is a great and powerful rivalry between two very similar schools:
- There are two Division 1A Football Teams that hail from Catholic institutions.
- There are two Division 1A Football Teams that have distinctively similar fan and family profiles.
- Both schools are storied for their Academics (See 2007 Princeton Review, "New Ivies")
- Many families split loyalties between the two.
- Both schools have other major secular (regional or not) rivalries.
I know that most ND Elitists will tell you that BC's rivalry is one sided, and that we only play up to them because we aren't deserving of their TV slot, or that we are like "Fredo" from the Godfather. I think that in this down period for Notre Dame (hasn't won a bowl game in 10 years, unranked pre-season, QB questions, lost a lot of starters) the BC game would provide a fresh rivalry against a team that has a very even history with them.
This year's game between the two schools is going to be a good one. A young, energized Notre Dame team against a veteran, but changing BC squad. I know that my Eagles will prevail but what I would love to see more than anything is the strong, friendly rivalry that would benefit this game greatly.
Let me ask you a fair question. IF (and I'm not saying its a given) Notre Dame doesn't do well in a transition year and goes 6-6 or, even worse, 5-7 (not out of the question with their schedule.)
ReplyDeleteDoes Weis get canned and, if not, does that open up the strife that was in Domerland when Willingham got cut because that would mean that Willingham would have done better after three years than Weis, yet been canned.
To be honest, as a ND fan, and an elitist detractor, I don't think he gets canned either way. He is much more beloved than T.W., maybe race is a factor, maybe its not, but he has strong base support. I don't see them going 6-6, but if they do, I don't think he gets canned. That being said, I don't know if thats fair or not, but it is what it is.
ReplyDelete