A CALL TO ARMS: LEPRECHAUN LEGION OF DOOM

Coach Brey celebrates a victory with his impersonators
in the Leprechaun Legion student section

College basketball is a game of emotion, where momentum swings can change the outcome of a game or entire season.  For that reason, home court advantage plays a huge role in any successful regular season.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the Big East, college basketball’s most dominant conference in 2011.   What comes to mind when you think of the top venues in the conference?   The unmatchable atmosphere of MSG is immediately obvious, both as the site of the Big East Tournament and the source of superhuman strength for the St. John’s Red Storm (just ask the #3 Dukies).  Then, there’s Cuse’s dome sweet dome that brings hordes of orange men and women together behind their beloved citrus-flavored squad.  Mention also has to be made of Pitt’s animalistic “Zoo” and Nova’s Pavillion, which has been sold out for years uncountable.  Actually, speaking of sell-outs brings me to the subject of this post: Notre Dame’s Leprechaun Legion.

Historically, the JACC has provided the Fighting Irish with a remarkable advantage over all regular season opponents, no matter the rankings involved.  This trend has continued into the modern era, and during my first two years as a student Notre Dame didn’t lose a single game at home.  They’re back at it again this year, with an unblemished record and only two more home games against Seton Hall and Nova. 

What has been the source of this home court “luck of the Irish?”  None other than the notoriously raucous Leprechaun Legion.   In years past, the loyal Legion has spent many a cold day (and sometimes nights) camping out in sub-zero temperatures in order to gain access to the coveted first few rows that set the tone for every home game.  The Legion has always been extremely vocal and passionate, forcing the College Game Day crew to admit they had never come across a more lively or spirited student section (not even the Cameron Crazies?!) when they visited in 2009.

The Leprechan Legion in action

2011 tells a different story, though.  It’s true that the front few rows continue to impress with pithy remarks spelled across rows in body paint, the fan-favorite “Irish Men” in body suits, and the recent contingent of suit coat and mock turtle neck clad Brey imposters (see above picture) bringing the JACC to life.  While these impressively obsessive members of the Legion have maintained much of the intensity this year, something is sadly lacking during the remarkable run of a team that no one credited at the outset of the season.  If you take a step back, you will notice that our arena is usually embarrassingly empty for a team that is ranked #7 nationally.  With the departure of Harangody, many students found it too hard to keep the faith, thus refusing to buy season tickets.  What they failed to recognize was the late season surge the Fighting Irish had put on without Luke last season, and the dangerous combination of experienced leaders that Brey had developed into a championship caliber squad.  It’s truly a shame that so many won’t get a chance to see these guys play in person.

Alas, not all is lost.  There is something we can do about it.  Actually, there are five things we can do about it:

1.  We must make sure every student ticket already bought is being used for every game.  Many who bought the entire booklet opt to sit out some of the games, and their tickets go to waste.  Unlike football stubs, individual basketball tickets are completely transferrable to other students.  It’s a simple solution:  If you don’t feel like going to a game, give your ticket to someone who does.  If you want to go but don’t have a ticket, ask around campus and odds are you will find one floating around somewhere.

2.  Those of us who do have tickets and continue to attend every game must make up for our comrades’ absence.  This includes not only the student section, but the entire crowd inside the JACC.  For every empty seat you see, you need to be that much louder and livelier.  In case you haven’t noticed, every time the entire crowd gets on its feet and into the game our team can’t help but go on a scoring run or buckle down for a great defensive stand.  The team feeds off our energy, and as a member of the crowd there’s nothing better than watching the direct impact your collective energy can have on a game.  Try it, its fun.

3.  For our final home game, a critical in-conference contest against Villa-no-fun, the powers that be need to find their inner generosity and open up the doors for all students to attend free of charge.  As the world’s preeminent Catholic university, we should be able to find it within ourselves to forgive their lack of loyalty by welcoming back our prodigal sons and daughters to return for one last send off worthy of a team ranked in the top 10.  Not only could doing so seal the deal on an undefeated season at home, but it could represent a tremendous showing of unity that gives the team something to remember as they head off to battle in the Big East Tournament and beyond. 

4.  All you Subway Domers in NYC need to rally around the flag come tournament time in MSG.  Having spent an entire week in the Big Apple during the tournament run last season, I saw first hand just how scattered our supporters were compared to almost every other team in contention.  In fact, most other teams seem to have a designated bar (not that I frequented them…) for their supporters to congregate in, get amped for upcoming games, and most importantly buy/sell/trade tickets with their fellow fans.  With all the Irish Pubs surrounding MSG (so I’ve been told), it baffles me why the Fighting Irish have not been able to come up with such an arrangement.  I’m talking to you, big time NYC alums who have more connections than Tetris:  Set something up to harness the collective energy of the Notre Dame / New York connection (after witnessing ND v. Army in Yankee Stadium, we all know its there…).

5.  Finally, we need to mobilize our masses for the NCAA tournament.  Everyone knows that Notre Dame travels exceedingly well for football.  Why can’t this be so for basketball?!  If, God granting, we land a good position in the Chicago region, we should all see it as a golden opportunity handed to us on a silver platter (see what I did there?).  The South Shore Line exists for a reason, the Alumni network in Chicago is ridiculously strong, and need I remind you that the greatest of all holidays (the one that turns the river green) just so happens to coincide with the first rounds of the tournament?  Oh yeah, and Notre Dame students will be on spring break… sounds like the perfect storm for Fighting Irish glory to me…

IRISH CREED writers FightingIrish1313 (far left) and TheNDleprechaun (second from left) watch a Notre Dame victory with the Leprechaun Legion

Bringing Down the Horse

#7 Notre Dame defeats #22 USC
in second round of NCAA Championship

Mounting the Trojan Horse

This Saturday, while most of the Fighting Irish faithful were packing marshmallows, shot-gunning beers, and praying to the powers that be for a Senior Day victory; the ladies of Notre Dame futbol were taking it to our traditional football rivals inside the walls of Alumni Stadium. After playing “our most complete 90-minute performance of the season,” (according to coach Waldrum), the Irish left the field with a sound 4-0 victory emblazoned on the scoreboard.

ND began their domination early; with a goal by senior Rose Augustin recorded at 7:12. Just 74 seconds later, senior Lauren Fowlkes struck a low shot from the top of the six, finding the inside of the right post. In the fifty-eighth minute, Fowlkes tallied an assist with a cross to junior Melissa Henderson, who connected with the net on a low shot to the left. Henderson contributed her own assist off another cross from Fowlkes, with a quick flick to freshman Adriana Leon who connected from inside the six. On the defensive end, senior keeper Nikki Weiss managed to shut down the Trojan offense with three saves over 83 minutes, until sophomore Maddie Fox relieved her – the Irish defense remained strong, however, and keeping USC scoreless until the final whistle without Fox registering a save.

This win finds the Irish in the Sweet 16 Round of the NCAA Championships for the seventh season in a row and the fifteenth time overall in the program. The fourth-seeded Notre Dame squad is slotted to face the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill at 5:00 on the twentieth. The Tar Heels have claimed the NCAA title for the last two consecutive years and hold an all time 12-4-2 record over the Irish. Despite this seeming disadvantage, ND is 3-1 against UNC in Chapel Hill and managed a 1-0 win on their last trip in 2008. After elimination at the feet of the Tar Heels in the Quarterfinals last year, however, the Irish are ready to wreak their revenge. This motivation, combined with their experience and exponential talent, gives Notre Dame a competitive edge over North Carolina – an edge that will hopefully land the Irish in the Quarterfinals, and pave the way to another NCAA Title.

-IrishGirl10

Behind Enemy Lines: Cal Southern

A recent recon mission for Irish Creed brought me to the south central LA campus of Cal Southern in order to check in on our long time rivals and see what I could dig up in the aftermath of recent NCAA sanctions.

It’s common knowledge by now that Cal Southern was hit hard by sanctions resulting from the “lack of institutional control” exhibited by their athletic department, specifically regarding illegal benefits taken by athletes Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo.  These sanctions went beyond the punishments placed upon the football team.  They led to the eventual firing of running backs coach Todd McNair, athletic director Mike Garrett, and they also forced head coach Pete Carroll to jump ship just before everything came crashing down.  Several players have already taken advantage of the "get out of jail free cards" issued to them by the NCAA by transferring to play for other programs.  Others are expected to follow in their wake.  Most importantly, it seems as though a once prideful legacy will forever be sullied in the eyes of honest men.

Most recently, Cal Southern President Steven Sample announced his decision to remove all jerseys, trophies, and depictions of Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo from campus in an attempt to “disassociate” the school from said offenders.  By a stroke of luck, I was able to sneak past the watchful eyes of Tommy Trojan and gain access into Heritage Hall just days before Reggie’s Heisman was taken down from its proud position alongside fellow upstanding Cal Southern alum O.J. Simpson. 

As you can see by my smile, I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Cal Southern.   Even so, I began to question myself while strolling their campus decked out in Fighting Irish gear and enjoying the plentitude of death stares being thrown my way.  I had to ask myself one important question: Is it acceptable for Loyal Sons and Daughters of Notre Dame to take joy in the collective misery of all those at Cal Southern?

There’s an old Irish toast that says, “Here’s to the health of our enemies’ enemies!”  Should we raise our glasses to the NCAA for sticking it to our mighty foes after we failed to do so on the gridiron over the past 8 years?  Should we kick back as happy spectators to watch the Fall of Troy commence?  Should we answer every call of “Fight on!” with jeers of “Cheat on!”?  My answer is a resounding YES, but only if we do so for the right reasons.

As a witness of three brutal defeats during my first three years as a Notre Dame student, I may be am definitely bitter about the recent embarrassment that my beloved Fighting Irish have been handed by Cal Southern.  Then last year we came so close to making an epic comeback inside Notre Dame Stadium, with one second left on the clock and one yard to go, only to be slighted by our destiny as we failed to tie the game.  Yes, some of the sting fades away when I see the same football player who torched our defense so many times publicly embarrass himself and become an exile at the very school that once sang his praises.  I feel guilty for doing so, though.  It can’t be right to gloat and be so happy for this reason.

After all, Notre Dame v Cal Southern is arguably one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.  The two schools began playing each other annually in 1926 with the Fighting Irish now holding a 42-33 edge in wins, and “The Greatest Intersectional Rivalry” has produced countless legendary moments.  It takes two to tango, and I respect our rivalry too much to take joy in watching our opponent crumble beyond the point of recognition.  In the same vein, the recent happenings at Cal Southern bring me joy precisely because I respect the rivalry so much.

The longstanding tradition of excellence at Cal Southern has recently become overshadowed by the circus surrounding their athletic department.  It was clearly getting out of control with constant celebrity appearances at games and practices and the overall promotion of a Hollywood image encouraging student athletes to focus more on living lavishly than on being either students or athletes.  Those in charge could only turn a blind eye for so long, and when the level of absurdity peaked with Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo something had to give.

It will be interesting to compare post-sanction Cal Southern to pre-sanction Cal Southern after the Hollywood image that drew so many athletes seeking fame and fortune gets replaced by a far less sexy  “culture of compliance.”  Changes are already starting to take place, hence recent hirings and firings along with these flyers that I found posted at every entrance to Heritage Hall:

I sincerely hope the new compliance programs work, and I look forward to November 27^th when Notre Dame resumes a fair and balanced rivalry with Cal Southern.  So rather than saying "slainte" to our enemies’ enemies for the wrong reasons, I’d like to propose a toast in hopes that everyone at Cal Southern learns from their mistakes, our storied rivalry regains its true integrity, and college football lives on powerfully in its purist form.

I can’t wait to visit Cal Southern again in November.  Next time the scenery will look a little different with fewer trophies and jerseys on display, and I'll be happy to know that an army of Fighting Irish Faithful have my back.  As per true Irish custom, I left them with a parting gift to enjoy until we meet again.  A small Irish charm now resides somewhere on their campus and along with it lives the dreaded curse of the Leprechaun.  I have a feeling that everyone in the Coliseum on November 27th will witness some newfound good fortune for the Fighting Irish.

Sidenote: 

During my escape I decided to send Traveler to the glue factory as well.