Know Your Foe - Notre Dame

Now we can move to something more familiar than Utah or Miami. Throughout the off-season I kept hearing college football television talking heads comparing the 2008 Michigan situation to the 2007 ND train wreck engineered by Jabba the Bean Bag Chair. Considering how horrible the ‘07 Irish were – the actual realization of any such comparisons is a frightful and nauseating outcome for me. Here is what I do know… two of college football’s most storied and successful programs meet in cute little model of Michigan Stadium in Northwestern Indiana on Saturday. It will be broadcast on the Notre Dame Broadcasting Conglomerate and most of the football watching country will tune in, if only to see how bad both teams really are. After watching both teams last week, I really hope we do not embarrass ourselves. What do we know about these guys:

History: Not to be confused with THE Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (which started construction in the 12th Century) the land on which Notre Dame campus sits was originally purchased by Father Stephen Badin, the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States. He left the land in trust to the Bishop of Vincennes for anyone who would build a school on the site. The school was founded in 1842 by a 28 year old French Catholic priest named Edward Sorin. He named his newborn school “L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac” (The University of Our Lady of the Lake). In fact, the early Notre Dame was a university in name only. It encompassed religious preparatory and grade schools plus a manual labor school. The collegiate curriculum never attracted more than a dozen students a year in the early decades.

The association and influence of the Roman Catholic Church is clearly apparent throughout the campus. 82% of the students identify themselves as Catholics. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is in the center of campus, a statue of the Virgin Mary stands on the top of the Golden Dome, and of course there is Touchdown Jesus on the Hesburgh Library.

Location: Most people think that the school is in South Bend, but Notre Dame is actually in Notre Dame, Indiana. If you have ever been there, I think you will agree that the best thing about the place is that you can be back in Michigan in about 5 minutes, depending on the lights and traffic flow. The small campus area is actually quite nice. Women were not admitted to Notre Dame before 1972, but there has always been steady supply of willing female companionship at St Mary’s directly across the street. In general, that agreeable supply and demand relationship still exists. Ask any former Notre Dame student about their fun times on campus – and they will talk about hanging with the girls from St. Mary's or going to Chicago. Chicago is a 95 miles away.

Dorm life is more important at Notre Dame than any other school I have ever visited. There are no fraternities or sororities, making dorm association the primary social structure. About 80% of the student population lives in the 27 campus dorms, including roughly half of the senior class. Many students live in the same dorm their entire collegiate career.

South Bend derived its name because it lies at the south bend of the St. Joseph River. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1865 and now has about 260,000 people living in the area. Like most Midwestern cities, heavy industry has always dominated the local economy, most famously by the Studebaker Corporation. The American classic Studebaker cars were built there until the company exited the car business in 1966. The Studebaker National Museum resides in South Bend along with the College Football Hall of Fame.

Nickname: They call themselves the Fighting Irish, but no one can give me a straight answer why. In the 1920's, when they had the Four Horsemen, they were called the Rovers and/or Ramblers because they would travel anywhere to play anyone. At one point they were also called the Terriers, because an Irish Terrier dog would sit on the sideline during football games.

My favorite theory on the name was inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade. This seems the most plausible and significant to me. If you have ever walked the battlefield at Gettysburg you will see along the union line a statue of (Detroit Native) Father William Corby giving the Irish Brigade general absolution before the 2nd day of the battle. Corby later became Notre Dame’s 3rd (and 6th) President.

Another interesting theory points to a 1899 game against Northwestern. The domers were winning 5-0 at halftime and the Wildcat fans began to chant, "Kill the Fighting Irish, Kill the Fighting Irish". Yet another tale has the nickname originating during the 1909 Notre Dame-Michigan game. With his team trailing, one ND player yelled to his teammates (who had names like Dolan, Kelly, O’Brien, and Ryan) "What's the matter with you guys? You're all Irish and you're not fighting worth a lick." Notre Dame came back to win the game (of course they did) the media reported the game as a victory for the "Fighting Irish."

Perhaps the most interesting is the violent 1924 confrontation between Notre Dame students and faculty and the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan in South Bend. This event is described in Todd Tucker's book Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan

What I don’t understand is why the NCAA considers a Native American nickname like the Fighting Sioux offensive, but turns a blind eye to the equally as racist and offensive Fighting Irish? I guess the NCAA does not know that Ireland is an actual nation and characterizing them as fighters is offensive.

Mascot: The Leprechaun was named the official Notre Dame mascot in 1965. Each year a Notre Dame student is selected to play the part. They actually conduct tryouts and dress the winner in a Lucky Charms outfit. The Leprechaun brandishes a shillelagh and leads cheers and interacts with the crowd, supposedly bringing magical powers and good luck to the Notre Dame team. In 1999 a student from Milwaukee named Mike Brown was selected as the first African-American mascot leprechaun.

Colors: Notre Dame’s official colors are Blue and Gold, although most people associate green with the school. I recall vividly during the Gerry Faust era they wore green uniforms almost every game. These days, ND saves green for an every once in a while game when they feel like they need a little luck. On these select occasions, they will take the field during pregame dressed in blue, then to switch to green before the kickoff. That quick change tradition was started by Dan Devine in 1977 before the USC game. Notre Dame has also been known to switch jerseys at halftime, as they did during the 1985 USC game. In 2006 Coach Charlie Weis was desperate to end a 4 game “green jersey” losing string, so he broke them out against Army. The Irish won 41-9.

Logo: Notre Dame uses a classic interlocking ND as its primary logo. This has been the Notre Dame logo since at least the 1960s. At times, a green or blue shamrock as appeared behind it. As with most iconic logos, the ND logo is simple, recognizable and effective.

Helmets: Notre Dame wears a gold helmet. No logos. No stripes. No “I-am-a-good-player” stickers. In a way, the ND helmet has turned into a logo of the university, representing the golden dome atop the Main Building. I believe that the Irish are one of the few schools to never change the color of their facemask, always taking the field with the classic grey masks that have returned to popularity recently.

As with so many things at this place, tradition plays a huge part even with the helmets. The team’s student managers spray paint them prior to each game, refreshing the shine each week.

Fight Song: The Notre Dame Victory March is one of the most recognizable college football fight songs out there. Literally hundreds of high schools use it as their own battle song. It was written by in 1908 by brothers (and Notre Dame alums) John and Michael Shea. Next to Michigan’s The Victors, this is perhaps the best College Fight song ever written.

Rally sons of Notre Dame
Sing her glory and sound her fame,
Raise her Gold and Blue
And cheer with voices true: Rah, rah, for Notre Dame
We will fight in ev-ry game,
Strong of heart and true to her name
We will ne'er forget her
And will cheer her ever
Loyal to Notre Dame

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame,
Wake up the echoes cheering her name,
Send a volley cheer on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky.
What though the odds be great or small
Old Notre Dame will win over all
While her loyal sons are marching
Onward to victory.

Academics: Over the years Notre Dame has developed a very strong academic reputation. What used to be a popular choice for good catholic boys whose mothers wanted them to attend college has turned into a highly selective and much respected academic institution. Currently it is ranked #18 amongst National Universities (which is tied with Emory & Vanderbilt) and it is the only one of two schools (Northwestern is the other) that Michigan plays during the 2008 season that has a higher US News and World Report ranking. Truth be told, because of the school’s national fan base and popularity amongst subway alumni (people that associate with but did not attend the school) a Notre Dame diploma opens up a lot of doors.

Athletics: Notre Dame competes in 26 Division I intercollegiate sports. Over the years they have won 14 non-football National Championships in six different sports (seven in fencing, two in women’s soccer, two in men’s tennis and one in men’s golf, men’s cross country and women’s basketball). They compete in the Big East in almost every sport except football (independent) and hockey (CCHA).

But, the lights are kept on in the athletic department because of their football program. Not many schools can compete with the historic numbers the Notre Dame football team has delivered. They have the second most wins and second highest winning percentage in history (behind Michigan). They have won 11 national titles (most of all time) and have won 7 Heisman Trophies (most of all time). They have produced 181 All Americans (most of all time), 42 College Football Hall of Famers, 10 Pro Football Hall of Famers, 461 NFL draft picks (most of all time) and 5 overall #1 picks (tied most of all time). You really do not want to get into a historical performance argument with a Notre Dame fan.

There has been a lot of conversation over the years about ND joining the ranks of the Big Ten. But like the tall dark and handsome bachelor that gets laid just about any time he talks to a hot chick, there is no real incentive to get married to the Big Ten. The Irish make a tremendous amount of money from their exclusive NBC football coverage and the Big East gives them what they need (opponents) in the non-revenue sports. About the only way the Big Ten can force the issue would be for Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue to stop scheduling them every year… and that is not going to happen because everyone is making too much money to walk away.

Famous alums: As you expect from a school with the national draw and reputation of Notre Dame they have an extremely lengthy list of notable alumni including many Corporate execs, elected officials, and Educational leaders. Recognizable names include Hanna Storm (TV Host), Don Criqui (sportscaster), Eddie DeBartolo Jr (former owner of the San Francisco 49ers), Phil Donahue (former television talk show host), Alan Page (NFL Hall of Famer and Minnesota Supreme Court Judge), Regis Philbin (Annoying television personality), Condoleezza Rice (Soon to be former US Secretary of State), Daniel Ruettiger (The original Rudy) and many others. I found it interesting that they list Joe Theisman (ESPN Analyst) but not any of their professional football greats including Joe Montana or Paul Hornung.

For those of you keeping score:
1) There are no former US presidents with a ND degree... but they do have a former President of Panama (Ernesto Perez Balladares). They also have a real US President that once portrayed a Notre Dame Football player in a movie and another TV actor that played a fictional US President with a Notre Dame degree in a series.
2) There are 2 former astronauts: Michael Good and James Wetherbee, and two other guys that helped launch and guide stuff for NASA.

The Game: Low expectations suck. I hate this game every year because I never expect us to win. Michigan holds an all-time 20-14-1 advantage in the historic series and has blown the doors off Notre Dame the last two years, but that does not matter. I always think we are going to play down to their level, and most of the time we do. I watched the ND/San Diego State game last weekend and giggled when the Irish were in danger of losing to Chuck Long's BAD Aztec team. Then they came back to win. That being said, I have no faith in our quarterbacks ability to hit wide open recievers or our offensive line's ability to open any holes for our ninja running backs to slice through. The defense will once again have to carry the load, and it might be asking too much on the road. Strange and BAD things happen in that stadium. I am not confident in a Wolverine victory this week.

Michigan 10
Notre Dame 17

Ouch. I hope I am wrong.