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 and #1, only to be beaten by a substantially lower-ranked opponent. Let this be a dire and horrifying warning!

For October is the month of horror, ending as it does with Halloween, the night when ghosts and demons cavort openly among the living. American film-goers love to be horrified, because they know that what they are watching is not real. Irish football fans hate to be horrified, because what they see before them is oh-so very real.

Thus, let us bring together movies, the Fighting Irish, and the Naval Academy Midshipmen (who can be all too horrifying) and re-imagine some horror films with better endings:

“The Poseidon Adventure”

In theaters: A rogue wave capsizes a cruise ship, killing all but our heroes, led by a Minister.

In San Diego: A wave of Irish offense swamps the Middies, led by our hero, a Book.

“The Last Voyage”

In theaters: A heroic father leads his wife and daughter to safety after a boiler explosion sends a cruise ship to the bottom.

In San Diego: A heroic Kelly leads his Irish and their fans to victory after an explosive Notre Dame sends Navy to defeat.

“The Perfect Storm”

In theaters: Three deadly weather systems converge on a fishing boat which is engulfed by the sea.

In San Diego: Eleven deadly defensemen converge on the hapless Middies who are engulfed in loss – unfortunately for Navy, it will be Tranquill weather.

“Below”

In theaters: Terrible things happen on a Navy submarine.

In San Diego: Terrible things happen to Navy next to their submarines.

“Jaws”

In theaters: A great white shark eats people.

In San Diego: A great Irish defense eats Middies.

“The Abyss”

In theaters: Divers encounter underwater aliens.

In San Diego: What the Middies will be staring into.

“Dead Calm”

In theaters: A murderer pirates a sailboat.

In San Diego: The Navy cheering section.

“Deep Rising”

In San Diego: Irish Rising

“Moby Dick”

In San Diego: A cut-blocker

“All Is Lost”

In San Diego: The Story of the Navy Midshipmen

“A Night to Remember”

In San Diego: The Story of the Fighting Irish

EFS CSC

The post Good Fridays w/Padre: The Horror appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Illustration by @phillykelly

Last week, Notre Dame announced it had extended the contract of head football coach Brian Kelly through 2021.

Kelly already has 55 wins at Notre Dame and has the most career victories of any coach currently coaching a FBS subdivision program (226). If he stays for the entirety of his contract*, it’s likely he could eclipse Lou Holtz for games coached (132) and Knute Rockne for wins (105).

But there will be no Brian Kelly statue erected outside Notre Dame Stadium when the coach retires.

COMPARING BRIAN KELLY TO LEGENDS

Here’s the hot take: Brian Kelly is the worst coach Notre Dame has ever allowed to oversee its football team for at least 78 games.

WINS

Fans and alums want nothing more than for their football team to win.

Coach Lou Holtz [Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Allsport]

There is a major difference, however. Holtz won a national championship in his third season. Kelly went to the national championship in his third season; we all know what happened next.

Here’s why I remain skeptical that Kelly will best Holtz. Lou wins his next 17 games – #79 to #95 – before the Boston College stunner in 1993.

If Kelly goes 11-2, 11-2, 11-2 and 12-1 or better in the next five years, that would not only be awesome. It would give him the exact record of Lou Holtz.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

Brian Kelly said recently that he wanted to keep playing the Alabamas, Ohio States and Clemsons. I commend him, because that’s the only way you’re going to figure out what is keeping your team from being elite.

Kelly has faced tough adversaries who win a lot of football games. The only person with a tougher schedule? Lou Holtz.

Nearly 45 percent of Lou’s first 78 games were against teams ranked in the AP Top 25! Holtz went 21-13-1 against those squads, and 13-9-1 (.587) against those in the top 10.

Kelly is 11-12 against those in the AP Top 25 and 1-5 against those in the top 10. (The lone win was against then-#8 Oklahoma in 2012.) Simply put: While at Notre Dame, Brian Kelly almost never wins games against big opponents.

DAVID VS. GOLIATH

My experience is that Notre Dame fans hate to lose. The pain of that loss, however, is dulled if it’s a good team. Any loss to a team that fans consider “inferior” creates a lot of message board bluster about firing coordinators and head coaches.

To Kelly’s credit, he didn’t lose to an unranked opponent in 2015. The sixth-year coach is now 26-3 when his team is ranked and his opponent is not. The losses are to South Florida in 2011 and Northwestern in 2014; both teams finished with a sub-.500 record. The third is to 7-6 Pittsburgh in 2013 (the game during which Stephon Tuitt was tossed for targeting).

Kelly is 18-8 (.692) when both his team and his opponent are unranked at game time, which is also last among the six coaches we’re examining.

THIS IS OUR HOUSE

A home win is the perfect capstone to a weekend odyssey to South Bend. No one should come to your house and push you around.

In this respect, Holtz and Kelly boast similar records. Holtz was 30-7-1 in his first 78 games, while Kelly has been 29-8. Holtz’s losses were to #3 Michigan, a 5-5-1 Pittsburgh team, and #3 Penn State in 1986; a 5-6 Stanford team and #18 Penn State in 1990, #13 Tennessee in 1991 and #18 Stanford in 1992. That loss to Stanford in 1990 was Holtz’s only loss to a team that ended the season under .500. (He was 47-1 at ND).

Kelly’s home losses: 7-6 Michigan, #16 Stanford, 10-3 Tulsa in 2010; 5-7 South Florida and 10-2 USC in 2011; #14 Oklahoma in 2013; and 5-7 Northwestern and 9-4 Louisville in 2014.

ROAD DOGS

It’s satisfying to go into an opponent’s house and silence their crowd in a dominating win. My experience with our fan base, however, is they tend to forgive road losses more than home losses (unless they are against opponents deemed inferior).

Kelly’s teams have struggled in true road games. They are 14-11, which puts him well behind the legends.

CURB STOMPING

Fans constantly implore the Irish’s head coach – through their televisions – to keep his foot on the accelerator.

Brian Kelly doesn’t coach those kind of teams. Nearly half of his wins – 23 – at Notre Dame were by 9 points or fewer. If you’re old enough to remember Lou Holtz, only a quarter of his wins in the time period studied were by less than 10 points. And if you’ve been a fan since Ara Parseghian, Kelly’s margin of victory has to feel extremely frustrating. Through 78 games, Parseghian-coached teams won 27 games by 30 or more points!

YOU ARE MY BITTER RIVAL

Beating a historical rival is a feel-good elixir for many of us. I studied six historical opponents – most are considered rivals; a few are not.

Here’s how each coach is doing through 78 games, with the caveat that Notre Dame has zero control over the ultimate successes or failures of other institutions during certain eras

vs. USC

• Lou Holtz: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 5-1-1 (.786)
• Brian Kelly: 4-2-0 (.667)
• Ara Parseghian: 2-4-2 (.375)
• Knute Rockne: n/a

vs. MICHIGAN

• Lou Holtz: 4-2-1 (.643)
• Frank Leahy: 1-1-0 (.500)
• Brian Kelly: 2-3-0 (.400)
• Ara Parseghian & Knute Rockne: n/a

vs. MICHIGAN ST.

• Lou Holtz: 6-1-0 (.857)
• Brian Kelly: 3-1-0 (.750)
• Knute Rockne: 3-1-0 (.750)
• Ara Parseghian: 5-2-1 (.688)
• Frank Leahy: 2-1-0 (.667)

vs. NAVY

• Lou Holtz: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Ara Parseghian: 7-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 8-1-1 (.850)
• Brian Kelly: 5-1-0 (.833)
• Knute Rockne: 0-0-1 (.500)

vs. PURDUE

• Lou Holtz: 7-0-0 (1.000)
• Knute Rockne: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Brian Kelly: 5-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 4-1-0 (.800)
• Ara Parseghian: 4-4-0 (.500)

vs. STANFORD

• Frank Leahy: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Ara Parseghian: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Knute Rockne: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Lou Holtz: 3-2-0 (.600)
• Brian Kelly: 2-4-0 (.333)

DISCLAIMER

It is completely unfair to compare coaches from different eras because almost all aspects of the game have changed during the past 100 seasons. There are several issues that a head coaches can’t directly control: academic issues, injuries/luck and transfers, to name a few.

However, I undertook this amateur analysis because I believe fans do this sort of “apples-to-waffles” comparison, especially those who look back at the “good old days” with a certain reverence.

LOGISTICS

Notre Dame Stadium has just one gate that isn’t already dedicated to a former coach.

Gate A belongs to Devine; Gate B to Parseghian; Gate C to Leahy; Gate D to Holtz, and the north tunnel to Knute Rockne.

Leahy’s Lads raised funds for a statue of their coach, which was erected in 1997 on the stadium’s east side. A sculpture of a seated Moose Krause, the former coach and athletics director, was added in 1999 outside the Joyce Center.

The university’s Monogram Club expressed interest in erecting statues in honor of all Notre Dame football coaches who won one or more titles. Parseghian’s went up in 2007; Holtz in 2008; Rockne in 2009 and Devine in 2011. All five coaches are also in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Is Brian Kelly a strong candidate for the College Football Hall of Fame if he wins more than 100 games at Notre Dame and close to 300 overall? Absolutely. But, lacking a national championship, I don’t see a vestige of Brian Kelly cast into bronze and placed outside Gate E.

CONCLUSIONS

Flawed as it may be, I compared Brian Kelly and the four legends in 83 statistical categories. I assigned 1 point to the coach who had the most wins, least losses, most ties, best win percentage and so on. The coach in last place in each category received five points. As in golf, the lower the score, the better.

Here are the results:

1. Frank Leahy (1941-43, 1946 to game #1 of 1951): 193 points
2. Knute Rockne (1918 to game #3 of 1926): 195 points, 2 points behind Leahy
3. Ara Parseghian (1964 to mid-1971): 207 points, 12 points behind Rockne
4. Lou Holtz (1986 to game #5 of 1992): 226 points, 19 points behind Parseghian
5. Brian Kelly (2010-2015): 286 points, 60 points behind Holtz

By the metrics I selected, Brian Kelly is unquestionably the least successful coach who has been employed at Notre Dame for at least 78 games. My findings should not be construed as advocating for Kelly’s firing. (I personally believe the opposite; I really like Brian Kelly.) I’d imagine Brian Kelly will be perfectly content with being a good, but not legendary, Notre Dame coach.

LOOKING AHEAD

If Notre Dame is successful this year, they will play either 13 or 14 games. Here’s how each past coach did in games #79-92:

• Knute Rockne: Now coaching in his ninth year (1926), Rockne compiles an 11-2-1 record in a 14 game stretch. His team hands Northwestern and Army their only losses of the 1926 season, and Georgia Tech its only defeat of the 1927 campaign. His team ties an undefeated Minnesota team, 7-7, in 1927 and loses to 19-0 to Carnegie Tech in the penultimate game of the 1926 season and 18-0 to Army in Yankee Stadium the following year. (The team is 11-1-1 in the next 13 games).
• Frank Leahy: Leahy has also begun his ninth year, and there’s some surprising struggles. The ’51 team loses, 27-20, to a Southern Methodist team that will finish the season with a 3-6-1 record. It ties Iowa, 20-20. The Hawkeyes finish the year 2-5-2. Leahy’s Lads are also blown out by #5 Michigan State, who finishes the season undefeated.
  The 1952 campaign is more successful, including wins over #5 Texas and #9 Purdue who, frankly, did not deserve to be ranked that high. Leahy is 9-3-2 in his next 14 games. (The team is 8-3-2 in the next 13 games).
• Ara Parseghian: Parseghian’s 79th game as Notre Dame coach is near the end of his eighth season. He’ll compile a 11-3 record in the next 14 games. In this stretch, Parseghian’s teams plays only three teams that will end the season with a winning record – and lose to two of them (#14 LSU at the end of ’71 and #1 USC near the end of ’72). (The team is 11-2-0 in the next 13 games).
• Lou Holtz: Lou’s done with losing for a while. His ’92 and ’93 teams will go a perfect 14-0 during this stretch, including wins over previously undefeated (and #4 ranked) Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl and then #3 Michigan to open the road slate in 1993. The streak would extend to 17 before being snapped by…yes…Boston College. Notre Dame’s opponents during the 14-game stretch would finish their seasons a combined 75-88 (.460).

—
* As Blue & Gold Illustrated’s Lou Somoygi noted:

“Whether Kelly actually lasts the full six years on the deal is debatable. … Contracts are mainly statements of buyout or compensation for a given number of years. With virtually any college coach, the objective is an ability to publicize that he is under contract at a minimum of four more years in order to “sell” it on the recruiting trail. To believe that it is gospel is naiveté at its finest.”

The post There Will Be No Brian Kelly Statue appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

It’s completely unfair to compare coaches from different eras because of the college game has evolved in the past 80 seasons. There’s also several issues that are beyond the head coaches’ control: academic issues, injuries and transfers to name a few.

However, I’m going to do it to provide an additional perspective on Brian Kelly’s tenure (Bayou Irish kicked off the discussion Wednesday) and because I believe fans do this sort of “apples-to-waffles” comparison anyway.

I’ll be comparing Kelly, Dan Devine, Lou Holtz, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Knute Rockne through their first 65 games in a multitude of categories. Kelly, as I’ll prove, consistently fares poorly in a comparison to these legendary coaches.

JUST WIN, BABY

Fans and alums want nothing more than for their football team to win.

While Brian Kelly was 3 wins off Lou Holtz’s pace before the 2014 season started, he finished 5 behind after posting an 8-5

Picture courtesy of Robert Pernett (via Flickr)

record. I’m skeptical that Kelly can ever overtake Holtz. Lou went 9-3-1 in games #66-78 – which would be the equivalent of a 12-game regular season and a bowl game in the upcoming season for Kelly. Then Holtz won his next 17 in a row before the team lost to Boston College in 1993.

TOUGHER SCHEDULE

For all the talk about Notre Dame being “too chicken” to play Michigan or other opponents perceived as “tough,” Kelly has faced the second-hardest schedule among his predecessors through 65 games.

Ara Parseghian’s 52-9-4 record is certainly commendable, but its impressiveness is surely dulled by the fact that he was beating a lot of bad teams.

BIG GAME BRIAN? NOT QUITE.

There is perhaps no bigger obsession for fans than analyzing Notre Dame’s place in the standings. To be the best, you have to beat the best. Knute Rockne falls to the bottom of this list because AP rankings didn’t exist when he was coach.

Kelly is 9-9 against ranked opponents and 5-7 (.417) when Notre Dame and its opponent are both in the AP’s top 25.

DAVID VS. GOLIATH

My experience with Notre Dame fans is that they never like losses. But, if the team has to lose, it better be against a good team. Simply put, our team should make easy work of inferior opponents. And when that doesn’t happen: That’s when they want to put the coach on the hot seat.

Brian Kelly’s 17-3 record when his team is ranked and his opponent is unranked would be commendable, if not for the fact that the fan base tends to remember those three losses vividly (South Florida in 2011, Pittsburgh in 2013 and, of course, Northwestern last year).

Kelly is 18-8 (.692) when both his team and his opponent are unranked at game time, which is also last among the six coaches we’re examining.

BAD LOSSES

Ugh. There is simply no excuse to lose to a team than cannot finish its season with a winning record. Notre Dame has several advantages in recruiting, training and coaching. It simply should not be outclassed by a terrible opponent on Saturday.

Ara Parseghian was a perfect 35-0 against teams that ended their season with a losing record through his first 65 games as coach. Frank Leahy was 28-0 and Rockne was 18-0-1. Kelly ranks last, with a 17-2 (.895) record. Those “bad losses” were to two teams that would finish their seasons 5-7: South Florida in 2011 and Northwestern last year.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE

A win at Notre Dame Stadium is a perfect capper to a great fall weekend in South Bend. The thinking goes: No one should come to our house and push us around.

Kelly is 23-8 at Notre Dame Stadium, which almost exactly mirrors Dan Devine’s home record through 65 games. It still puts him last on this list.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Photo courtesy of OSU Special Collections & Archives (via Flickr)

It’s admittedly also satisfying to steal a win in someone else’s place, although my experience with the fan base is that they tend to value home wins more. Kelly’s 11-9 record in games played at the opponent’s home stadium is not very impressive. (He’s 11-3 in games played at neutral sites.)

STOMP ON THEIR THROATS

I’ve been a fan of Notre Dame football for more than 25 years now. I can’t recall many instances where Notre Dame just absolutely blew the doors off an opponent. I can recall many instances where we as fans pleaded with Notre Dame to curb-stomp a team. It just doesn’t happen a lot. Here’s the scoring differential in each coaches’ first 65 games.

Ara Parseghian was whooping on opponents. Knute Rockne was annihilating opponents. Frank Leahy was destroying opponents. Brian Kelly? At a touchdown differential per game, his teams are just not running away from people. (I recognize this is an imperfect stat to draw the conclusion I’m making, but the data backs it up.)

IT’S STILL A SUCCESSFUL SEASON IF WE BEAT USC

Beating a historical rival is a feel-good elixir for many of us. I studied six historical opponents – most are considered rivals; a few are not.

Here’s how each coach is doing through 65 games, with the caveat that our coach has no control over the ultimate successes or failures of other institutions during certain eras:

vs. USC

• Lou Holtz: 5-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 4-0-1 (.900)
• Brian Kelly: 3-2-0 (.600)
• Ara Parseghian: 2-2-2 (.500)
• Dan Devine: 1-4-0 (.200)
• Knute Rockne: n/a

vs. MICHIGAN

• Lou Holtz: 4-2-0 (.667)
• Dan Devine: 2-1-0 (.667)
• Frank Leahy: 1-1-0 (.500)
• Brian Kelly: 2-3-0 (.400)
• Ara Parseghian & Knute Rockne: n/a

vs. MICHIGAN ST.

• Frank Leahy: 2-0-0 (1.000)
• Lou Holtz: 5-1-0 (.833)
• Dan Devine: 5-1-0 (.833)
• Brian Kelly: 3-1-0 (.750)
• Knute Rockne: 3-1-0 (.750)
• Ara Parseghian: 4-2-1 (.643)

vs. NAVY

• Lou Holtz: 5-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 7-0-0 (1.000)
• Ara Parseghian: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Dan Devine: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Brian Kelly: 4-1-0 (.800)
• Knute Rockne: n/a

vs. PURDUE

• Lou Holtz: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 4-0-0 (1.000)
• Brian Kelly: 5-0-0 (1.000)
• Ara Parseghian: 3-4-0 (.429)
• Dan Devine: 5-1-0 (.833)
• Knute Rockne: 6-0-0 (1.000)

vs. STANFORD

• Frank Leahy: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Ara Parseghian: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Knute Rockne: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Lou Holtz: 3-1-0 (.750)
• Brian Kelly: 2-3-0 (.400)
• Dan Devine: n/a

CONCLUSIONS

I’ve acknowledged that this sort of comparison is greatly flawed because of the evolution of college football. However, I went forward and compared these coaches in 83 statistical categories. I assigned 1 point to the coach who had the most wins, least losses, most ties, best win percentage and so on. The coach in last place in these categories received six points. Like golf, the lower the score, the better. Here are the final results:

1. Frank Leahy: 172 points
2. Knute Rockne: 211 points, 39 behind leader
3. Ara Parseghian: 228 points, 56 behind leader
4. Dan Devine: 259 points, 87 behind leader
   4(t). Lou Holtz: 259 points, 87 behind leader
   6. Brian Kelly: 329 points, 157 behind leader

By the metrics I selected, Brian Kelly is least successful coach who has been employed for 65 games or more. My findings should not be construed as advocating for Kelly’s firing. (I personally believe the opposite; I really like Brian Kelly.) Instead, the only conclusion I can safely make is: They’re not putting a statue of Brian Kelly outside Notre Dame Stadium when he retires.

I’d imagine Brian Kelly is perfectly content with being a good, but not legendary, Notre Dame coach.

LOOKING FORWARD

If Notre Dame is successful in 2015, they’ll be invited to a bowl game, which would be their 13^th contest. Here’s how each of Kelly’s five peers did in games #66-#78.

• Knute Rockne: Rock starts the 1925 season with wins over Baylor, Lombard and Beloit, before a decisive loss to Army in Yankee Stadium. He’ll finish 1925 at 7-2-1. His first three games of the 1926 season are all wins, bringing his record in this 13-game period to 10-2-1.
• Frank Leahy: Leahy’s team is #1 by game #66, which occurs during the last half of the 1949 season. He beats Iowa and USC at home and SMU on the road. His team is again ranked #1 heading into the 1950 season, but falls to Purdue in its second game. By the end of a disappointing 4-4-1 season, the Fighting Irish are unranked. Leahy’s squad, ranked #14 in the pre-season of 1951, wins its home opener against Indiana. His record in this 13-game stretch is 8-4-1.
• Ara Parseghian: Ara’s 66^th game as head coach pits the #3 Fighting Irish against #18 Missouri. It’s a decisive three-touchdown win on the road, followed by wins against Navy (in Philadelphia), Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and LSU. An end-of-season loss to unranked USC spoils a perfect season, but the #6 ranked Irish beat top ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Ara opens the 1971 season with a #2 ranking and five straight wins, but drops the sixth game to an unranked USC team (again!). His record during this 13-game period is 11-2-0.
• Dan Devine: It’s the end of the road for Devine, who will coach just 5 more games in his Notre Dame career. He finishes with a 2-2-1 record, including wins over Alabama and Air Force and losses to USC and a Herschel Walker-led Georgia team in the 1981 Sugar Bowl.
• Lou Holtz: As previously mentioned, Lou compiles a 9-3-1 record during his 13-game stretch that starts in mid-1991 with wins against #12 Pittsburgh, Air Force, USC, Navy, Hawaii and #3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. His #3 ranked Irish tie #6 Michigan the following year and lose to #18 Stanford at home.

The post Let’s Give ‘Em Something To Talk About: Notre Dame Coaches at 65 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

FROM OUR SITE

• More good works from Oscar McBride

VIDEO

• WatchND: Torii Hunter Jr.: From the gridiron to the diamond (4:52)

RECRUITING

• Cardinal Authority: U of L football: Junior day update (Connor Foos)
• 247 Sports: Corley heading to Michigan
• Irish Sports Daily: In the film room: Ahmir Mitchell
• Irish Sports Daily: Foster being patient with the process
• Irish Sports Daily: Youngquist hoping to hear more from ND
• Badger Nation: Brown talks Wisconsin offer (Cameron Brown)

CURRENT TEAM

• Irish Illustrated: Make the pieces fit
• One Foot Down: Chronicling Malik Zaire’s passing vs. LSU in the Music City Bowl

IRISH IN THE NFL

• Detroit Free Press: NFL combine: Miami RB Duke Johnson puts mom at center of success (Kyle Brindza)

COACHING

• Larry Brown sports: Charlie Weis does not think he will coach again

MISC.

• ND Nation: An early Easter (Knute Rockne)
• The Blade column: Surprising BG deserves more fan support

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 16, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Since 1887, we’ve had worse seasons, but few as divergent as this one.  A fine defeatist platitude says, “These things happen.”  But this is so true.  In Rockne’s 11^th season, he only had one more victory than his four losses.  Leahy’s eighth season was flat, with only four wins, just as many losses, and a tie.  The Ear of Ara was marred by a 7-2-1 finish in the fifth year of his tenure.  In his penultimate year with the Irish, Devine managed only 7-4.  And in year nine, Holtz eked out but six wins, suffered five losses, and settled for one tie.

What’s interesting is that Rockne’s nadir came after three undefeated seasons and one championship, and it fell immediately before his two final undefeated championship seasons.  Leahy bottomed out after four championships, four undefeated seasons, and came in advance of a final undefeated effort.  Parseghian had one championship and one lossless season under his belt before he faltered, but came back with two more undefeated years and one more championship.  And Devine and Holtz were both national champions before they were brought low, Devine’s crown blemished by one loss, and Holtz losing two crowns by dropping the last game of two regular seasons.

Thus, Brian Kelly and this team, though not doing well, have not done anything out of the ordinary – except in the manner that they have done it.  No team has ever stoked the fires of hope by starting with six straight wins, then thrown a urine-soaked blanket on that blaze with five losses.  If the offense hadn’t been able to score a slightly more obscene amount of points than North Carolina, we’d be staring at the season-equivalent of a tie, a draw, a very stale stalemate.

People love to use the word EPIC – usually shouted in exultation or awe.  Read a damn darn Classical Epic, people!  Lots of heroes die; and even if they don’t, they all suffer horrible, degrading defeats and losses.  Epics are long, in excess of 20 books; and they are not defined by the first five.  Everything turns out well after all the blood and death, but the hero must have courage, belief in himself, and hope.

Behold the epic comparisons:

* The Trojans lost to the Greeks, but founded Rome…just like we lost to the Trojans, but we look forward to vanquishing them when next they come here to Little Rome.

* Everett Golson made spectacular plays but had abysmal turnovers…just like Odysseys fought his way through the Mediterranean returning return home to his devoted wife, all the while cheating on her.

* Agamemnon defeated Priam but was axed to death in his bathtub…we shutout Michigan but got cut to pieces by USC.

* We lost many fine players to injury, even a captain…just like Achilles lost Patroclus, Aeneas lost Anchises, and Odysseus lost his whole crew.

* Dido fell on Aeneas’ sword when the Trojan wouldn’t marry her…just like that USC cheerleader was flattened by her own Trojan player.

* We escaped Navy like Odysseus escaped Poseidon, but both were costly victories; Hoke coached like he only had only one eye in the middle of his forehead; Sarkisian sounds like some sort of island monster (the Sarkisian devoured a whole sow in two bites!); and Odysseus’ guide was blind…just like Brian Kelly went for two.

* The similarities go on and on, of course without the murder, idolatry, and incest – that would be the SEC.  My point is that the greatest stories in history have their dark moments.  Heroes have their flaws.  We had a good run, followed by a terrible fall.  But like our five greatest coaches, we still fight, and we march onward to victory.

I began this reflection with a literary echo of Dickens’ epic A Tale of Two Cities.  The hero Charles Darnay escapes the bloodbath of the French Revolution to see a better day; but right now we’re more like his identical counterpart Sydney Carton – young, talented but sloppy, and drunk.  Let’s just try to avoid the Guillotine Bowl brought to you by Robespierre.

EFS CSC

The post Good Fridays w/Padre: A Tale of Two Teams appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Lisa: Today I have the honor of speaking with Notre Dame’s very own football legend, “Knute Rockne” @DaGhostOfKnute. Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with us Mr. Rockne!

Q: What was the inspiration for the forward pass?

A: As a running back, I got tired of running the ball all the time.

Q: Why did you feel so passionate about bringing the forward pass to football? What was so important about making it a staple play?

A: Chicks dig the “Forward Pass,” I had to do something to impress the girls from St. Mary’s. (Hmmm … good point.)

Q: Why do you think it was so revolutionary?

A: Please refer to the previous answer … Next question.

Q: Who was your favorite player to coach?

A: No doubt, Georgie Gipp.

Q: Can you talk a little about what it was like to coach Curly Lambeau?

A: great kid, a great runner, too bad about the tonsillitis.

Q: When do you think Notre Dame will win its next National Title?

A: 2015. (Very bold, Coach!)

Q: What are your thoughts about the current state of Notre Dame football?

A: Right now I’d rank it as an 8 out of 10 … we need to play angry for four quarters a game.

Q: What would you do differently if you were the head coach for the upcoming 2013 season?

A: Blitz every down, and wear the green jerseys a little more.

Q: Which player on the current squad would you like to coach?

A: All of them.

Q: What is most surprising to you about football in 2013?

A: The speed of the game, and the uniforms.

Q: What brought you to social media? And what are your impressions of it?

A: That would be Lou & Regis, sorry for the name drops.

Q: What has been your best social media fan interaction? Your worst?

A: (Best) You. (Worst) I would say Nikki Minaj, Mark May, and a few extras from the cast from Gigli.

Q: Can you give us your predictions for the 2013 season?

A: C’mon MAN, like I’m not going to say 12-0?

I’d like to give Coach, I mean, DaGhostOfKnute a big thank you for chatting with me this week! If you are not already a follower on Twitter, please, do so RIGHT NOW! (Please?) @DaGhostOfKnute

Cheers!

The post In Depth with our Loyal Son, DaGhostOfKnute appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

My own cher vieux papa sired nine of us little Sorins.  We didn’t have Father’s Day in France, but I think it’s a noble American custom to set aside a day and celebrate dear-old-dad.  Though I have no children of my own, I count my loyal sons and daughters by the tens of thousands.  And that brings me to an important reminder for you all: Don’t forget the Holy Cross Fathers this Father’s Day.  After all, it was the CSCs who, sacrificing family of their own, gave birth to and raised this University (with The BVM, of course).  And the CSCs continue as the fathers of Notre Dame to this day.  So if you had a favorite Father Rector, Father Professor, or Father AlwaysCheerfulontheQuad, if you have been inspired by a particular Father Chaplain or Father President, or if you’re just grateful to all the Fathers, here are some gift ideas for the deserving CSC on this Father’s Day.

Spiritual Bouquet – No one’s really sure what this is, so if you tell Father that you’ve arranged one for him with your prayers, he’ll be happy.

Pagan Baby – I’m told this is no longer considered “Politically Correct”…whatever that means.  So just give a couple dollars to the CSC missions – with or without the punch-up boxing match.

A National Championship – Any sport will do, but a football National Championship would be an extra special gift for Father.  And don’t tell me only the players can give this – everyone contributes to the effort with hearts, and hands, and voices.

Don’t Give Money – Father has a vow of poverty and would just have to turn the cash in to his Superior…but I don’t think Canon Law says anything about gift certificates.

Nothing in Black – If you’re giving clothing to a CSC, make it colorful.  Black gets quite monotonous after a while, and it’s hot in the summer, and it shows dust and dirt, and it just doesn’t pop.

Promises of Good Behavior – Lads, this applies to you and your life in the dorms come August.  Tell Father he can pick one Friday or Saturday during the school year, and you’ll all pool your resources of self-restraint and give him a peaceful, no damage, no rule violation, no bathroom disaster, no hassle evening-night-morning.  He’ll weep tears of joy and thanksgiving.

Fine Wine or Spirits – If you can’t behave, lads, at least give Father something to take the edge off living with a hundred-odd louts and ruffians.

New Breviary – If you’re unfamiliar with this item, it’s the book of prayers a priest goes through every day of the year.  By the end of football season, Father’s is worn through and all prayed out.  So get him a spare.

A Glow-in-the-Dark BVM – Those things are just so cool.  If you can get one for each Corby Car, that would be fantastic.

Rosary – Can never have too many.

Or you can just write Father a note thanking him for his service to Notre Dame.  Trust me, he’ll really appreciate it…and a National Championship – I’m serious about that one.

EFS CSC

The post Good Fridays w/Padre: Fr.’s Day appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.