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 your keys and your clout. So I thought I’d share my preferred welcome signs with all of you here.

Imagine these written in blue script on a gold signboard. In fact, imagine these written in that awful, awful wedding-invitation-script that they’re using on the Shamrock Series uniforms:

The Struggle May Not Be Real,

But Parietals Are.

Your Mother Can’t Stay With You,

But OUR MOTHER Will Never Leave You.

The Notre Dame Trail Ends Here.

The Notre Dame Trial Begins Here.

This May Be Your First Year,

But You’ll Always Be Freshmen

To Me.

We Don’t Control The Weather,

But We Do Control

EVERYTHING ELSE.

Welcome, Probationary Alumni!

Now Leaving South Bend, Indiana,

And Entering Notre Dame, Indiana.

Do Not Make That Mistake Again.

Stay Off The Grass,

Don’t Feed The Leprechaun,

Fear The Squirrels.

Dorms On The Edge Of Campus

Have Amenities.

Dorms Closer To The Main Building

Have “Character.”

Welcome To MY World.

EFS CSC

The post Good Fridays w/Padre: Céad Míle Fáilte appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

It’s fun. I enjoy mixing it up. And, admittedly, I enjoy watching heads explode at the mere thought of having a bit of uniform fun. Because, you know, doing a one-off with the uniforms is some kind of unholy abomination. As if the effort by a marketing and design team from Under Armour and Notre Dame somehow sucks all the potential national championship hopes right out from under the Dome.

That all being said, what in the Yankee-blue hell is this bullshit?

Just..no… (via @NDFBEquipment)

Thus far it seems the only people that are actually fans of this also happen to be Yankees fan–or are completely blind/trolling everyone.

Now, I hate the Yankees with every fiber of my sports being. I promise my hatred of this uniform has nothing to do with that. Going with some kind of pinstripe design was the super-obvious move, especially based on Under Armour’s history with us. I figured it wasn’t going to look too great as pinstripes and football don’t mix in my brain.

But this?! I couldn’t have conjured this up in my worst nightmares.

And the thing that’s been driving me insane is that the more I look at the design, the more I see something that could have actually worked. For instance, the Yankee script Notre Dame is just awesome. The, what appears to me at least, darker shade of navy blue actually makes the pinstripe pants work better than expected.

But then pinstripes are added to the damn sleeves, cleats, and helmet. Not only that, but the helmet going matte in this darker shade just makes it look black, especially when you throw a logo with white on it for contrast. It just makes it look like a try-hard mess that should’ve been so much simpler.

For example, take a look at this jacket:

If you want to buy the one of the few good designs and help support HLS, click the photo for our Fanatics affiliate link.

That thing is incredible. You have the Yankees inspiration, but you have something that is also uniquely and clearly Notre Dame. The Shamrock Series uniform is less inspiration and more Yankee copy and paste.

If you take the concept above and apply it to the uniform, you end up with something much better.

The first thing that has to go are the pinstripe sleeves. No matter how you slice it, it just looks ridiculous. Granted, I’m sure there was some idiot in the room that said “well this is the same ND jersey except for a script Notre Dame and we need something different to sell.” And perhaps there was some Yankees chucklefuck screaming “MOAR PINSTRIPES! PINSTRIPES EVERYWHERE!”

But if you discard the pinstripe stupidity, you get a clean, classic ND look, with just a touch of Yankees inspiration that pair as good with crazy pinstripe pants as you can hope. The top and bottom are still clearly Yankees inspired, but much more Notre Dame.

However, we can do more. It may be hard to notice (color swapping pinstripes is a pain in the ass), but the pinstripes are now gold. The UA logo and ND Monogram also receive the gold treatment as well.

Overall, there wasn’t nearly enough gold on the uniform save for accents on the numbers, gloves, helmet decal, cleats, and belt buckle. You can’t relegate one of your primary colors to an accent like that unless you decide to heavily leverage green.

Bringing gold back into the uniform makes this more uniquely Notre Dame instead of a Yankees wanna-be. Plus, let’s not forget the Shamrock Series is license to go a little crazy. Don’t half-ass the ND/Yankee combo, go all the way. Do the gold pinstripes still look ridiculous? Absolutely, but it’s a hell of a lot better.

Finally, put a damn gold helmet on this thing. I’m not one of those people that is “gold helmet or death” on the uniform, but you can’t have the thing looking like it’s something you stole from an Oregon uniform and put an ND sticker on it. Call it matte blue all you want, unless this thing has some kind of unique shine off the lights, it’s going to look black against navy blue and that’s just all kinds of unstable.

Ditch the decal while we’re at it too. If you really feel the need to mess with the helmet, take a page out of the Rockne heritage playbook and have some pinstripes running down the helmet. Again, it’s ugly, but a hell of a better option that what was displayed.

I really hope the next Shamrock Series design is much more inspired than this mess. What are your thoughts? Did I improve the design at all or does this thing have no hope at all?

The post Let’s Fix the Shamrock Series Uniforms appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Both games will be part of the Shamrock Series. I must say, I’m not a fan of the Shamrock Series, but that is a whole different article. In this case, I’m okay because of the match-up and minimal travel that would be involved for me.

I love Notre Dame, but I have a place in my heart for Wisconsin and especially the people of the state. I attended a small college and played football in Wisconsin. I’ve yet to find people as warm as those I met during my collegiate years. More importantly, they are die-hard Badger fans. My collegiate years coincided with the rebirth of Badger football under the direction of former Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator Barry Alvarez. I can also attest that Camp Randall where the Badgers play, absolutely rocks. The smartest thing that Jack Swarbrick did in scheduling the series was putting it at a neutral location to offset that home-field advantage.

That being said, I think he is extremely naive to think the stands will be a 50-50 split. Wisconsin fans travel extremely well. They always have. I would expect A 50-50 split in Chicago, but Lambeau, in my mind, is a road game for the Irish despite their designation as the “home” team.  In fact, when the Irish met Wisconsin in basketball a few years ago in Philly with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line, there was a huge amount of red in those stands.

I’m excited about this game for so many reasons. In my lifetime, I’ve seen the villains of the Big 10 (Purdue, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan State) dot the Irish schedule from time to time. Who wouldn’t love a new villain to enter that fray?

Too add more intrigue, Colin Cowherd (who I find nauseating) recently claimed Wisconsin is a better program than Notre Dame. I love that we can now test his theory.

I also love that the Irish are (10-0-2) all-time at Soldier Field! Hey, 2021 is looking great!

On a personal level I love the chance for some bragging rights with some old friends. Finally, I love the challenge. Take a peak at that 2020 schedule when you get a chance. Arkansas, Clemson, Stanford, Wisconsin, USC, etc. No hiding on that schedule. As we count down to this season, I’m struck again by how Notre Dame continues to challenge themselves.

The post You Had Me at “Wisconsin” appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

While last year’s all green Shamrock Series uniform gave a nod to Fenway’s “Green Monster,” this year’s olive green and gold uniform will pay tribute to military tradition and Notre Dame’s opponent, Army.

2016 Shamrock Series Uniform

2016 Shamrock Series Uniform

2016 Shamrock Series Uniform

And, of course, another helmet gets added to the collection …

Previous Shamrock Series helmets

This year’s Shamrock Series helmet includes a hand-painted illustration of the motif above the Basilica doorway – God, Country, Notre Dame. This illustration also appears on the sleeve of the jersey.

2016 Shamrock Series Helmet

With this year’s game being the last game of the Shamrock Series, what do you think? Is it a solid design choice? Or is it hideous?

Want a jersey? Get yours here.

Cheers & GO IRISH!

The post Shamrock Series Uniform Revealed appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Many moons ago (these moons) (not that moons) (bless his heart), I wrote about the subway and the importance to the University of Notre Dame of its formative footballing years and how they helped build a national brand out of the little school on the shores of Lakes St. Mary and St. Joseph. Sorry, Father Sorin, il y en a deux.

Those games were played in Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds, and in Ebbetts Field. In seasons past, the Irish brought the Shamrock Series to Yankee Stadium and to Fenway Park. By continuing to schedule and play football games in baseball stadiums, Notre Dame honors its past and builds important bridges with future fans.

The popularity of Major League Baseball relative to the NFL, the NBA, heck, even to NASCAR has been popular fodder for sports-writers for some years, now. The MLB couldn’t crack the top twenty-six most-watched sporting events of 2015, while women’s soccer and NCAA basketball managed one appearance each, while college football came in thrice.  Still, Game Five of last year’s World Series attracted a pretty respectable 17,206,000 pairs of eyeballs on the television.

I am happy to concede that shoe-horning a football game into a ball park does not make for the most ideal sightlines. That said, its just as hard to play baseball on a football field and make it fan-friendly. Just ask anyone who attended the baseball game between LSU and Tulane in the Superdome back in 2002. Or anyone who watched a game at Shea.

Still, there is no denying the jazz a marquee venue brings. Playing in Yankee Stadium is an homage to the past. Playing in Fenway is a chance to bring the Notre Dame experience to Boston, home of Brian Kelly and Irish-Catholics the world over. Can you imagine the excitement for a game at Wrigley?

I think what I like most about these “baseball games,” if you want to call them that, is that they’re played in either “classic” or “regenerated classic” ballparks.  In her terrific Master’s thesis, Christine A. Mello categorized parks into one of three categories, the two just mentioned and “super stadiums.” “Classic” stadiums now number but two: Fenway and Wrigley, while super stadiums are on their way out, their hulking multi-purpose, please-everyone approach soundly outdone by Camden Yards and its progeny.

By Official Navy Page – Flickr: Ireland VIP’s take part in the opening coin toss., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21168415

By selecting unique stadiums in which to play, Notre Dame opens itself to limitless opportunity. Recall that we played Navy in Dublin at a rugby ground. I’d love to see the Irish at Old Trafford or Wembley or The Azteca. I’d love to see the Irish in Paradise.

I’m all in favor of continuing the Shamrock Series and of playing Notre Dame football in unique places.

The post Playing Football in Baseball Stadiums is Awesome appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Let’s just get this out there: I love the Shamrock Series. I was as president of the ND Club of El Paso when NDAA Executive Director Chuck Lennon traveled to San Antonio for a whirlwind tour and to meet with the other club presidents from the state to figure out how the first game was going to come together. There was so much excitement and pride by everyone involved. There was no question the goal was to put on the best experience possible.

By the time the weekend came to an end, it was indeed a lot of fun. Alumni and fans from all over met up on the Riverwalk the night before and tailgated like there was no tomorrow at the Alamodome. Everyone had a rousing good time and it also helped that ND whipped up on Washington State.

I bought into the idea of an away “home” game hook line and sinker back then and I continue to do so because it’s all about location and here’s why.

Recruiting

The game has allowed the Irish to continue to target areas of the country where the coaching staff has looked at specific players in the region. Bringing the recruits to the Shamrock Series game has allowed the staff to showcase ND in a way that no other school has yet to replicate. The student-athletes see the game in a completely new environment and experience the hype of the game in a way that only ND can offer. There’s a different pomp and circumstance because it’s a unique venue with a primetime TV slot (more on that later) as well as the one-off game jersey that “kids” like to see. It’s a different and exciting game.

Mind you, it’s great to go to campus and experience the tradition of Notre Dame. It’s a totally different thing when you get to experience that game tradition in addition to a game that is a quasi-bowl game experience. Because if we are being honest here, that’s really what this amounts to. If you’re telling a recruit that this is what to expect not just once but hopefully twice a year while getting nation prime-time exposure while winning the game and being in the conversation for the national championship playoff games, I find it hard not to think that’s not a big selling point.

It’s Still a Business.

At the end of the day, this is still a business and when you have a major product in a prime-time game, you wanna get the most bang for your buck. NBC was genius in moving the game to the evening (not including this year’s game) to compete with the ESPN/ABC or Fox Sports night game. There is always a strong viewing contingent which means more ad dollars even if it’s another Xerox commercial. It doesn’t hurt ND has drawn respectable ratings and I would expect that to continue because when NBC is happy with us, the TV contract gets a little sweeter the next time around.

2013 Shamrock Series uniforms

Adidas and now Under Armour have done a bang up job with targeted merchandise for the game. We’ve seen some pretty cool one-time game jerseys (see Dallas-Ft. Worth in 2013) and some ho-hum ones too (Chicago, 2012). Yet with both companies, there has been a little more effort to make the merchandise just a little bit more special. There’s a new shirt that is produced one time or a sweatshirt just looks a little cooler than the tried-and-true one that’s been at the Bookstore for 20 years. Just like the TV contract, the more specialized game-related merchandise we all buy, Under Armour smiles a little bit bigger and that will help with the next contract negotiation.

Closer to home, I have heard from a number of alumni who have said their local alumni club has made a big deal of the game. The game watches are little bit bigger with local venue’s working a little more on getting food and drink specials while clubs get a little more support for scholarships with club dues and donations. The fact of the matter is when the game comes on and it has been marketed well, more alumni and friends come out for a night at the bar and that always helps the local club.

Seeing Notre Dame play

Perhaps the biggest thing I have heard and seen over the years from friends is this: I can’t believe I get to see Notre Dame play because I would have never been able to make it to campus.

I often take it for granted of the opportunity I have to see Notre Dame play every season as an alumnus. I’ve been fortunate to have the means and connections to get tickets to a game, sometimes at the last minute, and make my way to South Bend. I forget that as a student, I was there all the time and it’s a way of life every fall.

I take it for granted the excitement I have every season because I know it’ll be there next year.

And then I remember the time I got a call from a friend who was living in Virginia. He was ecstatic and almost inaudible. He finally got his hands on some tickets to the game at FedEx Field back in 2011. His voice was high pitched as he said they weren’t the greatest of seats but he didn’t care because he was finally going to watch “the Fighting Irish, the greatest team of all time play, with [my son] and words can’t describe this feeling I have. I can’t believe this is happening.”

He was sky high from then until after the Irish won. He sent me pictures of the family tailgating with other ND fans, of he and his son in the stadium decked out in their jerseys and hats, and of his son later that night asleep in his bed with his jersey on because he refused to take it off.

It was the greatest game he had ever been to.

I forget that there’s a love for Notre Dame like no other and the Shamrock Series game helps with that feeling. The game gives people a chance to experience the Irish Guard lead the band onto the field, seeing the golden helmets glisten in the lights and yelling to their hearts content as they cheer on the team to victory.

At the end of the day, there are a million reasons as to why the game is a great business decision. But to me, it’s the immeasurable experience that means more. The series will take a break in 2017 so we can get one extra game at home in the newly completed Campus Crossroads project. But I can’t stress how much I hope the game comes back for 2018.

The post The Case For Continuing The Shamrock Series appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

There’s not a lot of downside to the Shamrock Series, in my opinion. If I were to nitpick/speculate a little however, I believe the Shamrock Series could become a drag based on the following:

1) The additional home game (albeit at another location) may be viewed as a negative with the CFP Committee over time. This may be concerning as ND is already perceived as playing from behind without a conference championship to play for.

2) We lose the series’ value proposition if we skew scheduling of the matchups towards ACC opponents. The series is meant to be a modern day barnstorming. If we end up just playing ACC schools, I personally think the allure of the series/game takes a hit. Three of the eight games (including 2016) were against ACC schools. While using the SS game as an ACC match-up might help us in our requirement to schedule an ACC opponent, it seems to help the ACC more than ND.

3) This is baseless speculation. But if we’re moving the kickoff for Texas to a Sunday, what will prevent us from facing pressure to play a Thursday night game at some point? Imagine a scenario where the Shamrock Series is pitched as a Thursday night game against a high profile opponent for a rating boon? As a fan of college football, I would love to see that – but as a highly anxious ND fan scared of playing a premier opponent on a short week of practice? Not so much.

The post The Case Against the Shamrock Series appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

In this episode, we discuss Notre Dame surviving against Purdue in a crazy week of college football. Molly gives us an insight into what the atmosphere was like in the game and if the mood match ours as we were losing our minds on Twitter. And we cover the good, the bad, the frustrating, and wonder just how upset we should be about the Irish’s performance in this year’s Shamrock Series.

You can check out this week’s episode below:

Finally, as next week is the bye week, we want to hear from you. Fire questions away in the comments below or on Twitter with the hashtag #AskHLSTV. We’ll pick our favorite questions and answer them in next week’s episode!

The post HLS TV (Episode 3): Notre Dame’s a Survivor appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

To enter this week, head on over to the entry form.

But first, let’s see how you did last week. Let’s start with the quotes because I’m giving out some bonus points this week:

Is Devin Gardner like an 8th year senior? – Philly Kelly

I wanted to frame the quote as soon as I saw it last week. Point!

When I think of Michigan, I think of Morrie in “Goodfellas” when he says “Fuck ’em in the ear.” I believe ND will do some ear-banging this weekend. Not much to say. We have a better team, more weapons, and baring turn-overs and old fashion ass cramming by the Big 10 officials, I think they should win this handily. As Lou would say, “It doesn’t have to be close…..” – The Nature Boy

My God, I love this. All of this. ND indeed ear-banged Michigan, and you even called some B1G referring tom-foolery. Point, Natch! WOOOOOOO!

Michigan gets off to a fast start, Golson leads ND back only to lose in some strange horrific fashion that mirrors 4 of last 5 years. Bad Mojo. Hope I’m wrong. – IrishFaninMD

As the lone person to pick Michigan, you were indeed wrong, but I’m sure you don’t care.

1816: Arguably the last year Michigan was a respectable university (Wikipedia that for greater context). Also, in a closest to the pin competition, that would be the number closest to the margin of victory for the Irish. Irish win. Big. – @IrishMoonJ

Point!

Fuck Michigan – NDEddieMac

Well, I mean, obviously.

Utter domination, beginning to end. Break them. – stogiesnbeer

Request heard. Request granted.

No chicken dance tonight – Indiana Kid

More impressive was your perfect 31-0 prediction. Hold on…

/checks timestamp

/sees you did this on Monday

Well, that isn’t how this works. But hey, I appreciate the effort. For this reason I will add -6 bonus points to your score of 6 for a grand total of 0!

Standings

Staff Picks

Animal Picks

Apologize in advance for the poorer quality of video this week. My wife, the usual camera operator, is out of town this weekend, so I had to roll solo.

Will Gulliver improve on his 1-1, record?

Maybe he’s picking against the spread and I just don’t know it yet. I don’t understand you, Gulliver, but at least you hate Michigan.

The post Shamrock Series Predictions appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

If you are like me, though, WatchND can give you a taste of the weekend events.

Check out the pep-rally below (direct link):

On Saturday, be sure to check out a live stream of the Fan Fest which will include the Shamrock Series pregame show at 6:30pm ET (direct link):

WatchND has been absolutely killing it as of late and being able to deliver these events into our homes is amazing. Be sure to check them out and GO IRISH!

The post Can’t Make It to the Shamrock Series? Let WatchND Take You There! appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.