Life as a Notre Dame fan is often like riding a roller coaster at the local amusement park. The years are filled with highs and lows and varying types of emotions. This off-season was no different from most other off-seasons. We came out of the spring game on a high of sorts after watching solid performances by both Golson and Zaire, along with some dazzling performances by Greg Bryant, Corey Robinson and Amir Carlisle. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the future definitely looked bright.
As we continued on through the off-season we got news of the Campus Crossroads project and new construction to shift the hub of academic and student life to the area surrounding the stadium. Along with this news came word of artificial turf which also brought a wide range of opinions and emotions.
(Photo: Matt Cashore)
In recent days the roller coaster has swung to an emotional low with the investigation into possible academic fraud involving four members of our football team. It sure would be nice to have a quiet, uneventful off-season, but that never seems to be in the cards for us as Notre Dame fans.
This becomes the tale of two teams. Which team will we see on the field when they take on Rice on Saturday, August 30th. Will it be a team with unstoppable resolve, ready to overcome the adversity with which they have been faced and use these challenges to fuel themselves when they face their competition? Or will it be a team who is already defeated before they step out onto the field? A team that feels the pressure that comes with eyes that scrutinize everything you do because you are the University of Notre Dame.
I think this team is going to be just fine. They may not be world beaters. This may not be a National Championship year, but these kids are definitely not going to go down without a fight.
I’ve been watching some of the interviews from media day, and I must say I’m pretty impressed with the attitudes and maturity of these young men. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to some of these interviews from media day, definitely take some time to listen to a few of these!
Cody Riggs:
Christian Lombard:
Austin Collinsworth:
Jack Nolan also had a chance to catch up with former Notre Dame running back, Reggie Brooks, to get his outlooks on the 2014 squad:
And of course a few words from Coach Kelly:
So, what say you? Are we gonna be fine? Or is this gonna be a crash and burn season?
Cheers & GO IRISH!
Her Loyal ... Daughter
Lisa Kelly is a multidimensional marketing professional. She has over two decades of marketing experience and earned a bachelor of business administration and marketing from the University of Notre Dame (Class of 1993 ... Siegfried Hall!). She is a Digital Publishing Manager by day and by night is writing her third book, a continuation of "Echoes From the End Zone: The Men We Became" and its sequel "The Men We Became: MORE Echoes From the End Zone." In 2012, Lisa was crowned the "Biggest Fan of the Big East" in a blogging and social media contest, representing Notre Dame.
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We’re gonna be just fine! Austin Collinsworth acts like an old man lol few more days! GO IRISH!!!!!!!!