A Notre Dame Football Blog
Notre Dame is the only university in America that has had two very popular and flattering major motion pictures made about it: “Kunte Rockne, All American” and “Rudy.” As a general rule, you don’t want a movie film made about your college, unless you hated it and want to join other people in laughing at it. Interestingly enough, “Rudy” had its world premier in South Bend exactly 25 years ago this month. That season, the Fighting Irish went into the last game of the year, at home, undefeated ...
Ball State. It’s an unfortunate name. Then again, our University is technically named for ‘Our Lady of the Lake’, even though there are, in fact, two lakes. Don’t get me started. Who put the Ball in Ball State? The very generous Ball brothers, who became very wealthy by building a better, smarter fruit jar. It’s not a sexy way to make money; but all things considered, glass pickling jars are a lot more popular today than what our first benefactor sold – fur. Since we’re playing host to ...
With a class of new students moving onto campus, I’m seeing a lot of different ‘Welcome’ signs all over the place. Each hall seems to have its own personalized, color-coordinated placards staking a claim to its new inmates residents. But the sign I see most is “Welcome Home!” I had a whole series of suggestions for appropriate (and more realistic) welcoming signs. But, as usual, my wisdom was neither sought nor appreciated by the current administration. When they retire you, they take away ...
What an unexpected year! No one should have been surprised that 2016 followed 2015; but the manner in which it followed was surprising: Not so much as night follows day, but more as a troop of rabid baboons follows the tourist who went to relieve himself behind the bushes and missed the bus back to the safari lodge, all while having his pockets stuffed full of beef jerky and hard candies. The Fighting Irish 4-8: We began the 2016 season ranked tenth and widely expected to vie for a place in ...
For the 175th anniversary, they’re “retracing” my route from Vincennes to Notre Dame. I’m flattered…I guess. They’re doing it in late August – Indiana in late August. You know, dangerous heat, violent monsoons, and tornado season. I wouldn’t have undertaken the journey in August! Are they going to cart in mosquitoes carrying Yellow Fever to complete the effect? And by the way, the hellacious trek from New York to Vincennes was much more harrowing that the last 270 miles through pancake-flat ...
The Agricultural College of the State of Michigan is coming to town for a football game. Well, that was their first name; but they soon changed it to State Agricultural College. Realizing that this was dangerously vague – how would the students know which state’s agricultural college they were attending – the name was tightened up to Michigan Agricultural College. But there’s so much more to Michigan than growing cherries and Christmas trees; so the name was elaborated to Michigan State College ...
An errant flyer was slipped under my door recently. It was a series of lists from the Office of Housing, instructing incoming freshmen in “What to Bring to Campus.” I found this amusing, because the Office of Housing used to be Brother Paul the Hermit; and “What to Bring to Campus” was “Whatever You Can Fit into Four Saddle Bags or One Steamer Trunk.” So I found these lists…quaint: Personal Supplies - Shower Caddy: This better not mean a fellow who carries your soap into the scrub room ...
Students at Indiana University saw a Dominican priest and thought he was a Ku Klux Klansman. This is not a joke. Oh, how I wish this really were a joke. They saw his Rosary and thought it was a whip. Since most students at Indiana University didn’t attend Catholic grade school or high school, how would they ever know that a Rosary can be used very effectively as a whip? A priest wearing the white habit of his order – an order that’s been around for roughly 800 years, represented in art, ...
There is a class of third-graders in California that has adopted the University as something of learning partner, teacher’s aide, and mentor. These young lads and lasses call themselves the Notre Dame Class of 2029. I enthusiastically applaud this kind of bold, audacious vision and aspiration; after all, in 1842, I declared a mildewed log cabin on the Midwestern American tundra to be a University. Didn’t go from mission to school to college – never used the word ‘impossible’ – didn’t bother to ...
Dear Playoff Selection Cabal Committee: I lodged a complaint with you last year when you began this sinister manipulation of the national treasure that is the venerable college football tradition. You fared somewhat well with your collusory scheme in your first attempt, though I suspect this had more to do with the sort of benighted luck visited upon a broken analogue clock that succeeds in telling accurate time in two minutes out of the 24-hour day. With this year’s shambolic farce, though, ...