An Interview with the 2010-2011 Fighting Irish Leprechaun:
TheNDleprechaun: How have you been preparing yourself for this season? I remember thinking I was in top shape before the home opener against Nevada last year, but after we started scoring early and often in the 85 degree heat my green suit was swet soaked by the end of the first quarter. How many pushups can you do these days? Also, do you have anything special prepared for this season that you might want to give our readers the inside scoop on?
LEPRECHAUN DIZ: Working with you last year I was able to see how grueling an entire game can be in that late summer heat and a three peice suit. Luckily though, I spent the summer in Africa right on the equator running and doing push-ups during my free time, so I'm pretty sure I'll be accustomed to the heat. As far as the number of push-ups that I can do, I'll fill you in on a little story; when Coach Kelly first arrived on campus last fall I ran into him in the dining hall and introduced myself as next year's Leprechaun. He simply smiled and said, "Well you better start working out now because come next fall, you're going to be doing a lot of push-ups." I took him at his word and I promise that there will be no shortage of push-ups on my end. When the team scores the points, I'll do the push-ups. As far as special preparations, I'll tell you this: I can't divulge a lot, but we may have a brand new flag leading the team out onto the field this year that took a little inspiration from Coach Kelly's last name. Also, we're working to move pep rallies around to accomodate students and other fans as well. We've got a lot of new surprises for those, so I wouldn't want to miss a pep rally if I were you.
TheNDleprechaun: My best memory from last year was the final hour leading up to our home opening kickoff. My adrenaline was flowing from the beginning of the Step Off Parade until we reached the stadium, where I pounded about 5 bottles of water before getting ready to lead the team out onto the field with the ND monogram flag in front of 80,000. You will have many moments like that throughout this coming year. What are you looking forward to most?
LEPRECHAUN DIZ: I'm definitely looking forward to leading our team out onto the field in the new Yankees stadium and then on the following Satuday doing the same thing in Southern California. As great as these two moments will be though, there's no way that it will compare to the feeling I'll get as I lead our new team, new coach, and new hopes out onto our own home field on September 4th, to start a brand new era of Notre Dame Football.
TheNDleprechaun: There was some controversy over the pep rallies last year, and student attendance was way down mostly due to the venue (it definitely had nothing to do with the MC, who was phenomenal.) We did have a few great rallies though, including a student-only send off before our team travelled to Michigan and an electrifying night prior to our showdown with Cal Southern. How do you plan to revive the rallies this year?
LEPRECHAUN DIZ: As you know, there are a lot of factors that go into choosing venues and speakers, but we have been working together to make sure that this upcoming season will be full of phenomenal rallies. We've actually only set the first three venues so far, so we're going to be interactive in making sure the students and fans are able to have a little bit of a say in where the rallies are held. There are also some other changes taking place including some parades leading up to the rallies and a little bit of extra fun. No matter what though, there's an electricity in the air this year that tells me we could have our rallies on the North Pole and we'd still bring out more crazy and loyal fans than any other university in the country.
TheNDleprechaun: Finally, if you could deliver one message to every Fighting Irish fan out there as we get ready for the 2010-2011 year, what would it be?
LEPRECHAUN DIZ: I'll make it short and sweet. This University and this team are bigger than any one individual. We have an amazing oportunity this year to be a part of something special as our brand new coach brings the intensity, tenacity, and the fight back to the Fighting Irish. So I challenge you right now: Band together, break out the war paint, come out to the pep rallies, get louder in the stands, and support your football team. If we do this, we can show every other university that they should fear playing Notre Dame, because we are the Fighting Irish and we will beat up on any team that steps on the field with us this year.
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| Leprechaun Diz sends a volley cheer on high |
Many thanks to Leprechaun Diz for sharing those inspiring words with all of us. We wish you the best of luck this year as you take part in reviving the fighting spirit of Notre Dame.
Be sure to follow Leprechaun Diz on twitter as he keeps the Fighting Irish Faithful up to date on his life as the Leprechaun: @NDLeprechaun10
Working the flag around Kelly's name?
ReplyDeleteGreen flag?
Green uniforms????
The Pep Rallys really need to be fixed. No offense, but they are awful in the JACC. Too many old alums, too few students, too much space between the team and the crowd. You need to jam everyone back into the Stepan Center. Hot, sweaty, and intense.
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