Waking
Up the Echoes
Today,
I am going to answer one of the questions people typically ask me: “Why do you
cheer for the Notre Dame football team?”
The
simple answer is I grew up in New York City, which would explain my love of the
Yankees, Giants, Rangers, Knicks, and to a lesser degree, St. John’s basketball
(Side bar: Nothing grinds my gears more than a NYC sports fan who cheers for
all the local teams. How the hell can you cheer for both the Yankees and
Mets?!? Or be a Giants and Jets fan?!?! I was only excited for the 2000 Subway
Series because I knew the Mets sucked and would be an easier opponent than St.
Louis.) Despite the popularity of sports in the city, college football was the
exception. The television options were limited, but NBC carried all Notre Dame
home games. This was a huge deal back then as they were one of the few colleges
that had most their games televised nationally. Nowadays, each major conference
has its own network coverage, there are a million sports channels to follow
most games, and Notre Dame’s NBC television contract isn’t that big of a draw
for recruits. If another team would have been on TV every week back then, I’d
have cheered for them. Instead, I root for the Irish.
One
thing I cannot be accused of is riding the Notre Dame bandwagon because they
have never been that great since I cheered for them. As one of the most storied
college football programs, most of their success happened before I was born. I
was four years old the last time they won a national championship and had a
Heisman Trophy winner. While I remember watching my first Notre Dame game (a
victory over #1 ranked Florida State), I remember watching my second game,
seeing the top rated Irish blow their chance for a national championship the
following week with a loss to Boston College, led by ginger QB Glenn Foley.
Being
a Notre Dame fan has led to more heartbreak for me as a sports fan than all my
favorite teams put together. Perhaps the reasoning is Notre Dame is always
hyped to be a contender. Some of the time it is warranted, most of the time is
because of their history, not current performance. Another reason might be the
perils as an independent football team. Since it is not committed to a
conference, Notre Dame has a difficult task to make a BCS bowl game. It is
guaranteed a BCS spot if it finishes in the top eight of the BCS standings and
finishes ahead of one the champions from an automatic qualifying conference. In
order to do that, Notre Dame can only afford to lose two games all year. That
is a lot of pressure when their schedule typically has some pretty tough
opponents. I realize every college fan is in the same boat, as one loss can
ruin a chance for a championship, but other fans can take solace in being able
to still win their conference despite a few losses. For Notre Dame, it’s ten
wins or bust.
Until
the return the glory I have been promised for so many years occurs, I will
remain bitter. George O’Leary isn’t a great coach, he’s a liar. Reggie Bush
cheated twice in college, not once (You can’t push a ball carrier forward).
Rudy isn’t a running joke, he is an inspiration. Bob Davie isn’t a color commentator,
he is a coaching train wreck. Charlie Weis is a guy who could coach an offense,
not lead a team. Lou Holtz isn’t a lispy homer on ESPN with an honorary
doctorate, he is a coaching legend. Denard Robinson is not Jesus Christ, he
just plays like him every 2nd week of September. I will continue
trading somber phone calls and text messages with my buddy, Joey G, after each
painful loss. I will wait for my loyalty to be rewarded.
- Written by Marcus Boyd
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