Reviving the Fighting Irish: Vol. II: Part V

Reviving the Fighting Irish:

The real significance of the words "Fighting Irish" at Notre Dame

“Always it has been the old Notre Dame fight, the spirit of the men who know that we have risen, step by step, in the face of adversity, and that we have a tradition that does not permit Notre Dame to quit.” 

Not only did the uphill path taken by early Notre Dame football teams follow the rags-to-riches storyline dreamt about by millions of American decedents of Irish immigrants, but it also symbolized the American Dream for the entire working class.  Notre Dame's success became a source of pride for Irish Americans, as well as all those identifying with the underdog never-say-die mentality of the team that would come to be known as the “Fighting Irish.” 

The nickname gained momentum when Rockne began using it as a way to motivate his teams. He took advantage of preexisting Irish stereotypes to make it known that he intended his teams to show toughness, purpose, and tenacity at all times. He even made use of the color green, a prominent symbol of Irish nationalism, as a motivational tactic when he instructed his players to shed their blue jerseys and reveal the fiery green garments they wore beneath at the most opportune moments of tough games.  His strategy worked more than once against heavily favored foes, eliciting praise from The Scholastic: 

“Mr. K. K. Rockne may, or may not, be a psychologist. But, he did array his Fighting Irish in bright green jerseys for their battle with the United States Naval Academy. Mr. Rockne evidently surmised that garbing a band of native and adopted Irish in their native color is somewhat akin to showing a bull the Russian flag.” 
(The Scholastic, “Football Review,” 1928)

"...native and adopted Irish in their native color..."

As the Notre Dame community began to attribute amazing comeback victories to such stunts, the “Irish” metaphor became solidified in the minds of Rockne’s players, the media, and the American public. As a result, the players referred to themselves more commonly as the “Fighting Irish.”

Throughout his book Knute Rockne: Man Builder, Harry Stuhldreher, one of the legendary “Four Horsemen” that made up Notre Dame’s backfield during Rockne’s first National Championship season, reflected on the ways his coach could make the players believe:

“Rockne used to laugh when the newspaper men said, ‘With your Carideos and Kassis and Kizer and Miller and Bach and Anderson and Larson, where’s your Irish?’ Rockne said to them, ‘They’re all Irish to me. They have the Irish spirit and that’s all that counts.’” 
(Stuhldreher, Knute Rockne: Man Builder)

Stuhldreher (second from left), smallest of The Four Horsemen,
was known as "The Little General" 

Such comments validated the “Fighting Irish” nickname for all those who heard them. Most importantly, though, Stuhldreher emphasized how the words “Fighting Irish” set a standard for his team. The players recognized their coach expected them to live up to the name, and as their reputation began to spread they felt the same pressure from the Notre Dame community as well as the greater sports world.  As recounted by Stuhldreher, they came to realize the words “Fighting Irish” represented more than just a common nickname:

“…translated by the public, it meant that the Notre Dame team had a fighting, competitive spirit that made them pull strongly when the odds were against them, that they brought to the game a spirit that was as apt to flame into victory in the last minute of the game as the first.” 
(Stuhldreher, Knute Rockne: Man Builder)

Thus the nickname passed on from the coach to his players, to their playing style, to the students, to the media, and finally to the public. It soon became clear to all that the popularity of the "Fighting Irish" would continue spreading like wildfire.

Reviving the Fighting Irish:

Vol. II: Part IV
Vol. II: Part III

Vol. II: Part II

Vol. II: Part I

Part III

Part II

Part I

Intro

(Vol. II: Part VI to come Wednesday, August 15)