In a devastating blow to those wishing ill-will on those making the football schedules at Notre Dame, the Irish signed a 25-year extension of the Michigan series today - games all the way until 2031 with the Wolverines.
It makes sense on several levels. The two winningest programs in college football should play each other. It is always good to have a rival you hate on your schedule - so Michigan on there every year is fine. Also, don't let the scUM fans out there fool you - they are kicking themselves over this one. Their plan was to eventually get to a schedule that they only had to play one game every year (OSU) and play it at Michigan every year. Too bad kids, you get to be on our sked every year for the peak time of the Robot Football Genius era and get to provide us with a signature win early every year.
Little history for you crazy kids out there. Michigan did come to South Bend in 1887 and teach ND students how to play football, taking away a 8-0 victory. They eventually met seven more times from 1887 - 1908 while we got our legs under us in college football. Finally, in 1909 we went up to Ann Arbor (that fricking whore) and won 11-3. Suddenly, the Wolverine didn't want to play us anymore. How much did we scare them off? Try 33 years. They wouldn't schedule us again (despite repeated attempts by us) and launched a campaign to keep us out of the Big Ten (thanks guys, I mean seriously, thank you so much, the Big Ten sucks).
Since the we really started to play Michigan regularly (after splitting meetings in 42-43, we didn't play Michigan again until 1978) ND is 12-9-1 against scUM. So, that flippant 14-18-1 record against them really ain't the truth, eight of those wins came before 1909.
Unanswered in this whole thing is the report that KW indicated that Oklahoma was going to end up on the ND schedule to replace Michigan (who wanted to ND to play at The Whore two consecutive years). That seems like it will not happen now, but with OU still end up on the sked... we shall see...
Oh, and I love it when I am proven right. Don't judge future schedules until they actually come out. Anything that is being bandied about now is pure speculation!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Hatred Scale
For those ND fans who might be new to the scene - here is the ranking of hatred of Notre Dame's rivals -
1. USC - Has always been #1 and always will be #1. Anything associated with USC is deplorable. If you are a Notre Dame fan - you cannot marry a USC fan. USC is the easiest answer I can give as to why people have religion - because it is clear that Satan is powerful because USC is successful.
2. Miami (Fla.) - We don't play them anymore - because both schools agreed that it was a good idea. Fights in the tunnels, blow outs issued by both sides - and the greatest college football game played of all-time (ND - Miami, Oct. 15, 1988) keep these guys #2.
3. Michigan - This hatred runs deep and will never diminish. First off, their so-called stadium is an abomination to college football. It is out-dated and a horrible place to watch a game. Plus, Michigan's anti-Catholic stance while part of the old school Big Ten will never be completely forgiven. That is why the Big Ten's pursuit of us is completely out of line - and ND was right to say no to them. We tried to join the fledgling conference at least 10 times during the 20s and 30s, only to be turned away - mostly because Fielding Yost hated Catholics. Oh, he was also pissed because we became better at the sport than the Wolverines.
4. Ohio State - Has moved up to the top five with a bullet. First off, OSU fans are off their rockers nuts - and not in a good way. Burning down the city whether you win or lose doesn't mean you are rabid fans - just means that you are nuts. And it must be said that OSU has dealt us some serious losses in the last few years - and that always adds to the hatred factor.
Oh, and for new ND fans - don't get caught up in the Boston College (Fredo) hype. They don't really factor into the hatred scale - because they are really meaningless. Not only did they sacrifice their Northeast tradition and the roots of their pedestrian college football success for the pursuit of money in the ACC. Fredo is just jealous and like a little brother you can't stand, not really worth your hatred, more just your pitty.
Hanging on the outside, wishing they were rivals who could require hatred but have not been successful enough against Notre Dame to rate on the hatred scale: Michigan State, LSU, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Purdue.
1. USC - Has always been #1 and always will be #1. Anything associated with USC is deplorable. If you are a Notre Dame fan - you cannot marry a USC fan. USC is the easiest answer I can give as to why people have religion - because it is clear that Satan is powerful because USC is successful.
2. Miami (Fla.) - We don't play them anymore - because both schools agreed that it was a good idea. Fights in the tunnels, blow outs issued by both sides - and the greatest college football game played of all-time (ND - Miami, Oct. 15, 1988) keep these guys #2.
3. Michigan - This hatred runs deep and will never diminish. First off, their so-called stadium is an abomination to college football. It is out-dated and a horrible place to watch a game. Plus, Michigan's anti-Catholic stance while part of the old school Big Ten will never be completely forgiven. That is why the Big Ten's pursuit of us is completely out of line - and ND was right to say no to them. We tried to join the fledgling conference at least 10 times during the 20s and 30s, only to be turned away - mostly because Fielding Yost hated Catholics. Oh, he was also pissed because we became better at the sport than the Wolverines.
4. Ohio State - Has moved up to the top five with a bullet. First off, OSU fans are off their rockers nuts - and not in a good way. Burning down the city whether you win or lose doesn't mean you are rabid fans - just means that you are nuts. And it must be said that OSU has dealt us some serious losses in the last few years - and that always adds to the hatred factor.
Oh, and for new ND fans - don't get caught up in the Boston College (Fredo) hype. They don't really factor into the hatred scale - because they are really meaningless. Not only did they sacrifice their Northeast tradition and the roots of their pedestrian college football success for the pursuit of money in the ACC. Fredo is just jealous and like a little brother you can't stand, not really worth your hatred, more just your pitty.
Hanging on the outside, wishing they were rivals who could require hatred but have not been successful enough against Notre Dame to rate on the hatred scale: Michigan State, LSU, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Purdue.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Football Schedule Madness
Notre Dame football fans have officially lost their minds - they are out of control with this Kevin White bashing. I would challenge absolutely any of them to do the job. Seems easy from the outside - it ain't on the inside. I am no Kevin White lover, mind you, but the necessity of Irish 'fans' out there bashing him just because there is nothing else to talk about is ignorant.
You CANNOT judge football schedules before they are released... you just can't. Get over yourselves and start getting fired up about the upcoming season.
You CANNOT judge football schedules before they are released... you just can't. Get over yourselves and start getting fired up about the upcoming season.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Jumbotron and schedule madness...
ND fans really need to get a grip on themselves right now. Since there is no practice and no recruiting news, The Nation is in an uproar about our scheduling policies - and what is really funny is that they don't even know what the future schedules are.
This is all coming from a story in Alabama that Nick Saban would like to play Notre Dame. Got news for you people - ANYONE would like to play Notre Dame. We fill up any piece of crap stadium (yes, I am looking at you Michigan and MSU) every time we visit - teams would absolutely fall all over themselves to get on our schedule.
The days when our schedules were laid out several years in advance are gone forever. Right now, only the 2007 and 2008 schedules are finalized. Our '07 schedule is among the best, if not THE best in the nation right now. We play Ga. Tech at home, Penn State on the road, Michigan on the road, MSU at home, Purdue on the road, UCLA on the road, BC at home and USC at home. Not one single team in the nation has a slate like that. Then, thank goodness, we have a little bit of a break toward the end of the year with Navy, Air Force, Duke and Stanford.
Breaking it down further, the Duke game was a fill-in when the NCAA shifted its rules to allow a 12th game - so it was very difficult to find a last-minute fill in to play - and who was not going to get a visit to their stadium back again.
Also - something that has NEVER been brought up and should be pointed out - while games vs. the academies are somewhat given wins - no one wants to play them because they are a pain in the ass. They don't ever give up (like a Western Michigan or Florida Atlantic would) and they play crazy offenses and defenses that actually force you to coach up your team (compared to playing Utah State or some team similar who just plain sucks). You won't see big-time programs putting Navy on their schedule because they have respect for them and know that if you don't bring it - they might just put you on your ass. Same with Air Force - not so much with Army (that program is a mess).
Back to the future schedules - the 2008 slate looks like this:
San Diego State at home
Michigan at home
at Michigan State
Purdue at home
Stanford at home
at North Carolina
at Washington
Pittsburgh at home
at Boston College
at Navy
Syracuse at home
at Southern Cal
Ummmm... okay, what gimmes are on this sked? San Diego State for one, but people don't realize that is a pay back game to the conference for making some arrangments with us in the past. North Carolina you would assume will get it turned around with Butchy Boy and won't be a pushover. We'll have to deal with the Washington-Willingham crap again (if he still has a job) and who knows, the Cuse could get it together as well. What the heck is wrong with this schedule? Not only that, we will be in the Southeast (at UNC), Northwest (at Washington), east coast (at Boston College), east coast again (Navy in Baltimore) and California (at USC). Pretty much gives alumns across the country a chance to see us play. Quit your bitching Irish fans.
Speculation on 2009 includes another good home opener-type (Nevada) and the usual suspects Michigan, MSU, Purdue, USC, Pittsburgh, Stanford and a return to campus by Ty (perhaps, don't think he will have the job by then). But I stress - SPECULATION, no one knows for sure who is on that slate.
Michigan is perennially tough, as is MSU and Purdue, USC is good, Pitt is not bad either. How many good games do you want to play?
Here is the problem with Notre Dame fans - and they just can't help themselves. When Davieham was here and we were getting our butts kicked, everyone called for us to play a weaker schedule - the rally cry was 'No way we are going to compete for the national title with this schedule...' Now, the Robot Football Genius has us on the road back to a yearly race for the BCS and the fans want to play all of our usual rivals, along with Alabama, Miami, Texas and LSU... it just can't work out that way people... Choose a side and the side I choose is this:
Who knows who the next USC is (hires a hot shot coach and catches lightning in a bottle) and they might very well be on our schedule in the future. You CANNOT judge a schedule more than a year in advance anyway.
Oh, and as for the Jumbotron. Give it a rest. ND ain't putting in a Jumbotron and never will. Stop executing KW for something that is not even an issue.
This is all coming from a story in Alabama that Nick Saban would like to play Notre Dame. Got news for you people - ANYONE would like to play Notre Dame. We fill up any piece of crap stadium (yes, I am looking at you Michigan and MSU) every time we visit - teams would absolutely fall all over themselves to get on our schedule.
The days when our schedules were laid out several years in advance are gone forever. Right now, only the 2007 and 2008 schedules are finalized. Our '07 schedule is among the best, if not THE best in the nation right now. We play Ga. Tech at home, Penn State on the road, Michigan on the road, MSU at home, Purdue on the road, UCLA on the road, BC at home and USC at home. Not one single team in the nation has a slate like that. Then, thank goodness, we have a little bit of a break toward the end of the year with Navy, Air Force, Duke and Stanford.
Breaking it down further, the Duke game was a fill-in when the NCAA shifted its rules to allow a 12th game - so it was very difficult to find a last-minute fill in to play - and who was not going to get a visit to their stadium back again.
Also - something that has NEVER been brought up and should be pointed out - while games vs. the academies are somewhat given wins - no one wants to play them because they are a pain in the ass. They don't ever give up (like a Western Michigan or Florida Atlantic would) and they play crazy offenses and defenses that actually force you to coach up your team (compared to playing Utah State or some team similar who just plain sucks). You won't see big-time programs putting Navy on their schedule because they have respect for them and know that if you don't bring it - they might just put you on your ass. Same with Air Force - not so much with Army (that program is a mess).
Back to the future schedules - the 2008 slate looks like this:
San Diego State at home
Michigan at home
at Michigan State
Purdue at home
Stanford at home
at North Carolina
at Washington
Pittsburgh at home
at Boston College
at Navy
Syracuse at home
at Southern Cal
Ummmm... okay, what gimmes are on this sked? San Diego State for one, but people don't realize that is a pay back game to the conference for making some arrangments with us in the past. North Carolina you would assume will get it turned around with Butchy Boy and won't be a pushover. We'll have to deal with the Washington-Willingham crap again (if he still has a job) and who knows, the Cuse could get it together as well. What the heck is wrong with this schedule? Not only that, we will be in the Southeast (at UNC), Northwest (at Washington), east coast (at Boston College), east coast again (Navy in Baltimore) and California (at USC). Pretty much gives alumns across the country a chance to see us play. Quit your bitching Irish fans.
Speculation on 2009 includes another good home opener-type (Nevada) and the usual suspects Michigan, MSU, Purdue, USC, Pittsburgh, Stanford and a return to campus by Ty (perhaps, don't think he will have the job by then). But I stress - SPECULATION, no one knows for sure who is on that slate.
Michigan is perennially tough, as is MSU and Purdue, USC is good, Pitt is not bad either. How many good games do you want to play?
Here is the problem with Notre Dame fans - and they just can't help themselves. When Davieham was here and we were getting our butts kicked, everyone called for us to play a weaker schedule - the rally cry was 'No way we are going to compete for the national title with this schedule...' Now, the Robot Football Genius has us on the road back to a yearly race for the BCS and the fans want to play all of our usual rivals, along with Alabama, Miami, Texas and LSU... it just can't work out that way people... Choose a side and the side I choose is this:
Who knows who the next USC is (hires a hot shot coach and catches lightning in a bottle) and they might very well be on our schedule in the future. You CANNOT judge a schedule more than a year in advance anyway.
Oh, and as for the Jumbotron. Give it a rest. ND ain't putting in a Jumbotron and never will. Stop executing KW for something that is not even an issue.
Welcome!
Welcome to the first post on the newest blog to monitor all things Notre Dame - especially football - 'Spirits of Notre Dame.' The motivation for producing this blog is very simple. Notre Dame fans seem to be among the most misunderstood in college athletics, but most of that is their fault.
ND fans have the ability to overreact to just about anything ever uttered about their team. 'Spirits of Notre Dame' is going to monitor the overreaction and attempt to get the root of the issue - without losing our heads.
We have a passion for Notre Dame here - but we don't let the passion get in the way of logic, reason and our love for the University and its athletic teams. We are going to strive to be the one Notre Dame site that tells it the way it is.
I am sure there will be some venting (ND doesn't do everything the right way, that is a certainty), some crying after losses (who doesn't feel like crap after a loss) and some uninhibited attacking of other schools (there is not another school in the nation that is on par with Notre Dame - not one as far as we are concerned).
The 'Spirits of Notre Dame' title will also allow us some creativity - you might see some posts from Rockne, Leahy, Gipp - you name the famous former player or alum, they might just show up here and let you know what they are thinking.
We are due for a great football season this fall - so let us all just sit back and enjoy the ride.
ND fans have the ability to overreact to just about anything ever uttered about their team. 'Spirits of Notre Dame' is going to monitor the overreaction and attempt to get the root of the issue - without losing our heads.
We have a passion for Notre Dame here - but we don't let the passion get in the way of logic, reason and our love for the University and its athletic teams. We are going to strive to be the one Notre Dame site that tells it the way it is.
I am sure there will be some venting (ND doesn't do everything the right way, that is a certainty), some crying after losses (who doesn't feel like crap after a loss) and some uninhibited attacking of other schools (there is not another school in the nation that is on par with Notre Dame - not one as far as we are concerned).
The 'Spirits of Notre Dame' title will also allow us some creativity - you might see some posts from Rockne, Leahy, Gipp - you name the famous former player or alum, they might just show up here and let you know what they are thinking.
We are due for a great football season this fall - so let us all just sit back and enjoy the ride.
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