(Written during the Duke game.)
An Open Letter to the University of Notre Dame
What we are witnessing is a disaster. There is a proud football tradition that is to be upheld at Notre Dame, a tradition that has seemingly been ignored for decades. From the day I was born in late 1984, I was brought up to love the Irish. The Fighting Irish. I see very little fighting. What I see cannot even be described as mediocrity. What I see is more focus on stadium additions than on gameday strategy. I feel that we the fans are being trolled on so many levels. There is a shirt produced every year, always with a saying that comes off as woefully hollow once the season gets underway. This year, we are called to Rise Above Ourselves. Hilarious.
Let's next discuss the trademarked Play Like a Champion Today sign. It's becoming a joke. We havent played like champions in 28 years. I was three years old, and I'm sad to say I cannot remember it. And then there is the bit about you, a university with an endowment exceeding 10 billion dollars, having the audacity to increase ticket prices yet again. Perhaps if you were putting a product on the field resembling football, the argument could be made to justify it. Are we just sheep that will buy all the gear and pay inflated prices regardless of the results on the field? I think that some tough love is in order. If my beloved Notre Dame Stadium was half-empty on gameday, would that motivate you to remember what we as the Irish Nation expect? What if we stopped buying the shirts, the jerseys, the coffee mugs, and every other trinket that costs four times as much because of the ND logo? What if people around the country decide to stop watching, and you lose your lucrative NBC television contract? I'll never stop watching. You hooked me at birth and there is no escape. Notre Dame football is part of the fabric of my heart and soul. I have often described it as a burden I must carry through life. I desperately wish it did not feel that way.
A few years ago, I received a gift from my father. It is a wooden football laser engraved with the ND logo as well as the years of all the National Championships that are now such distant history. It was signed by Coach Holtz, where he also wrote, "Doctor Brad, there will be many more." Coach Holtz, I hope you are right. If I'm lucky, I have maybe 65 seasons left. I hope that's enough.
I write this as I watch the final quarter and a half versus Duke. We just came back to tie the game. We may pull out a victory yet. However that's not the point. The point is that it's almost the 4th quarter and weve just come from behind to tie.against Duke. Not Alabama. Not Ohio State. Duke. A game where we were favored by nearly three touchdowns. It has become all too familiar.