The two most storied programs in the history of college
football (sorry, Michigan), will clash on January 7 when #1 Notre
Dame takes on heavily favored defending champion #2 Alabama.
I’ve witnessed more than my fair share of ups and downs during my
7 years as a Notre Dame student, as the lofty expectations of my freshman year
(pollsters had given us a #3 preseason ranking in anticipation of Brady Quinn’s
senior campaign) gave way to the lowest of the lows during my sophomore
year (try as I might, I can’t quite erase the scarring memories of a 3-9
season), eventually leading to the firing of Charlie Weis during my senior year
when I served as the official Fightin’ Irish Leprechaun.
When I decided to attend law school and prolong my career as
a Notre Dame student by three more years, I joked that the sole reason was to
watch as Coach Kelly fulfilled the task I gave him of returning us to
glory. Many laughed at the idea of
a team that had just lost 21 games in three seasons playing for a national
championship within the next three years.
It is now year three. Who’s
laughing now? (Certainly not Mark May or Rick Reilly)
More impressive than our meteoric rise under Kelly has been
the way we have done it. As a
representative of the athletics department during my time as the Leprechaun, and
as an intern while in law school, I have seen just how seriously we take our
values and our commitment to excellence, from the ADs at the top all the way down
to the managers and cheerleaders.
Lots of schools have mission statements for their athletics
departments. Not every school
stays true to its avowed values (see Florida State, Ohio State, Miami, Southern
Cal, and even Penn State).
That’s where this game comes in. We don’t do everything perfectly here at Notre Dame, but we
strive to, and by holding ourselves to a higher standard we stand out. That’s why we’re the most polarizing
team in sports, period.
Critics claimed Notre Dame would never again compete for a
title. They were wrong.
So-called "experts" discounted Kelly’s 2012 squad every step of the way,
predicting defeat after defeat only to have the Fightin’ Irish prove them wrong
again and again.
Frankly, ESPN
should be embarrassed by the quality of the talking heads they employ to spew
nonsense week after week, and I wish there was someway to hold clowns like
Jesse Palmer and David Pollack accountable for what they say one week prior to
pretending they’ve held a completely opposite viewpoint all along the following
week, but I’ll save that for another time.
Here we are, standing at the brink of a national title at a
day and age when so many had given up hope in the ability to win without
sacrificing standards. By coming
this far, we’ve already won in the sense that we’ve shown that it can be
done. By winning, and dethroning
the mighty SEC, which ESPN would have you believe belongs in the NFL, we will
force all those who see or hear about us to stop and ponder our success as a
team, as an athletics department, and as the preeminent Catholic university in
the world.
Notre Dame is a global force for good, fighting for
countless worthy causes. Among
those is inspiring a worldwide fan base to believe in the
possibility of success with integrity.
Here’s to hoping that, come January 7, the whole world will
be talking about that game between Crimson and Clover over and over.
Much respect, Maradona. Everybody's doing it:
