Part I:
Notre Dame first caught my eye one
Saturday afternoon during my senior year of high school as I watched college
football on TV. As the camera surveyed a sea of ugly-shirt-wearing students cheering their hearts out, I decided right then and there that I wanted to be part of the
energy that filled Notre Dame Stadium. Though I knew next to nothing about the place, I did know that I had found something special the first time I set foot on
this campus. Here stood an opportunity to become part of a one-of-a-kind community that takes tremendous pride in its
Catholic faith, its academic standards, its athletics tradition, and its overall
commitment to excellence.
As an incoming freshman, I arrived
on campus completely ignorant of the unfathomable ocean of tradition
that exists here. Over the course
of my four years as an undergrad under the Golden Dome, I came to realize
that Notre Dame is far more than a university wedded to its football team, an elite
academic institution, or even a major center of Catholic faith. It is all of those things, but it is
also much more.
I now realize that Notre Dame exists
powerfully as a "nation."
Dictionaries define the word “nation” as signifying “a large aggregate
of communities and individuals united by factors such as common descent,
language, culture, history, or occupation of the same territory, so as to form
a distinct people.” At Notre Dame,
our unique culture has evolved from the earliest years after Fr. Sorin founded
the university up until now, as those who are proud to call themselves part of the
Notre Dame Nation continue to grow in numbers.
The Notre Dame Nation is not bound
to any specific territory. Rather,
it exists as a collection of all those connected by a common legacy, memory,
pride, and language. The seemingly
endless host of influences that have come together to create this remarkable
nation is awe inspiring, and the source of my inspiration as I attempt to learn
as much as I can about the nation of which I am proud to call myself a member.
One of the most distinct
peculiarities of the Notre Dame Nation has to do with the language used by its
members. A single two-word phrase
has come to symbolize the combination of influences that binds its members together as they call themselves the “Fighting Irish.” As a student of Irish Studies at Notre Dame, these words took on a special significance that made me want to
know how they came about and what they actually mean. Through classes and research within the Irish Studies Department, I have learned that the nickname signifies
past connections between Notre Dame and the Irish in both Ireland and America,
the remnants of which remain integral to the unique cultural legacy of the
Notre Dame Nation.
Shared language plays an essential
role within any nation because it ties members together through common modes of
perception and expression.
Language also ties the culture of a nation to its past by preserving its
legacy through memory. When
considering the term “Fighting Irish,” which remains a common phrase that all members
of the Notre Dame Nation identify themselves with today, it seems remarkable
how few truly understand its significance. In order to fully comprehend the culture of Notre Dame,
knowledge of the origins and meaning of this phrase must regain a central
place within the collective memory of the Notre Dame Nation.
My motivation to learn more about
the term “Fighting Irish” and all that it entails also has to do with my
position as the official “Leprechaun” mascot of Notre Dame Athletics. The minute I was chosen to carry such
an honor as a representative of the Fighting Irish, I felt as though it became
my duty to grasp and embody the true meaning of the name as well as I possibly
could. I felt that if I could not
understand why Notre Dame had officially sanctioned me to become the face of
the Fighting Irish, then I would fail to respect the legacy that I was called
to represent.
How did the Fighting Irish Leprechaun come about?
Why is Notre Dame symbolized by a logo depicting a short, squat, and simian looking Irishman with a
scruffy beard, green suit, hat cocked forward, and fists raised in a defiant
fighting stance?
Isn't it odd that the living leprechaun mascot, meant to
purvey the tough mentality and swagger of a fighting Irishman by “brandishing a
shillelagh” and “aggressively leading cheers” is also expected to represent the
university in a family-friendly way as something akin to a living cartoon
character?
As much as those two
roles seemed to clash, I also had to reconcile my desire to become an authentic
representative in terms of what I had learned through Irish Studies with the
expectations placed upon me to become an over-the-top plastic-paddy stereotype
who “supposedly brings magical powers and good luck” to Notre Dame.
The more I
became familiar with the position, though, the more I came to realize that the
leprechaun stands as just one amongst many end-products of a long and complex
evolution of what is meant by the words “Fighting Irish.”
My personal inquiry about the
status of the nickname, logo, and mascot chosen to represent Notre Dame
Athletics led me towards more significant questions of a much wider scope. I began to struggle with questions
regarding the various meanings of the term “Fighting Irish” in relation to both
Notre Dame and all of Irish-America, as well as the myriad of influences that
determine the ways in which these meanings continue to change. Through my desire to understand this
process, I came to realize just how much this important part of the cultural
legacy at Notre Dame is largely unknown and underappreciated. I therefore decided to undertake this
project not only so I could gain a better personal understanding of the topic,
but so I could convey the significance of what it means to be part of the
“Fighting Irish” to others.
As graduation nears and I sit in
the Hesburgh Library at a window just to the left of Touchdown Jesus overlooking Notre
Dame Stadium, I find myself reflecting about the past, present, and future of
this university. The overall
culture of Notre Dame has changed along with the times, and the meaning of the
term “Fighting Irish” has followed suit.
Football was integral to Notre Dame’s early success and subsequent rise
to national prominence, and it will always remain a central aspect of our
culture. Even so, the modern era
of lofty academic standards, financial elitism, the big-time business of intercollegiate athletics, political correctness, and top-level competition in all
aspects of the university has overshadowed part of the mentality that once
defined our football team, shaped our culture, and gave rise to the “Fighting
Irish” nickname. As Notre Dame has
become an increasingly elite institution, the term “Fighting Irish” has lost
something of its past significance.
At times, it represents little more than a leftover reminder of a nearly
forgotten past. It does not have
to be this way, though, and the relevance of the term “Fighting Irish” can be
revived through efforts to make its meaning widely remembered and understood...
(Part II to come on Monday, May 21)
