Notre Dame: America's Team?

Notre Dame Forever
America’s team!

By Michael Novak

As far as I am concerned, the happiest days of the year began Saturday night with Notre Dame’s first game, down in Atlanta, against Georgia Tech. I just love to watch Notre Dame play football — hate when they lose. But win or lose, the next 12 weekends (I think there is an open date) are going to have a purpose and a center.

I have a nephew, Joseph (Joe), who is just back from the Philippines, and in few months on his way to Indonesia — he works for the State Department. At the Sunday afternoon dinner (a family tradition in the old days) at my sister’s apartment, he was marveling that the announcers, and even some of the Georgia Tech guys, kept saying the night before that Notre Dame is “America’s team.” That sounded amazing to us. Even Joe can remember when Notre Dame meant the immigrants’ school, the outsiders fighting for a little respect, and thrilled by a win as an underdog.

How things change. (Only in America).

On Saturday night in Atlanta, Notre Dame was wearing its white “away” jerseys, and those looked neat enough with the gold helmets and the gold pants. But I like best when they are in blue, that deep Notre Dame blue. They look formidable then. Powerful and like a machine, a highly intelligent machine with a lot of originality and flair.

Saturday night, it looked as though Georgia Tech just might beat ND. Down only four points going into the fourth quarter, the Rambling Wreck was only one big play from taking the lead, and maybe holding it for good.

But there were two all-Notre Dame plays that made the difference Saturday night. With less than eleven seconds to play in the first half, a scoreless Notre Dame, down 10-0, had the ball on the GT four-yard line. Time for only one play. Quite to the surprise of all, the coach called for a quarterback draw right up into the middle of the great Georgia Tech defense. That’s what we call a “Notre Dame” play: improbable, risky, but gutsy and absolutely determined to score. Brady Quinn ran with considerable force and from just inside the two-yard line heaved his 6'4" body well over the goal line. The faces of the GT line, which had heroically held Notre Dame bottle up for 29-minutes plus, reflected surprise and dismay.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjcxYWE2ZDRmNzc2YjZmY2I1YmNiYjI5NWIyOTZmNzM=

 

He "thinks" there's an open date?

This isn't a National Review article, is it? Please tell me this is from the South Bend Junior High school newspaper.

DTGDTN!!!!

 

I am a lifelong ND fan and this article made me blush and hurl up my breakfast. I'd like to think that MR Novak forgot to use the sarcasm font , but I doubt it.

 

It's the National Review. What do you expect?

 

This kind of crap is why it's so fun when Notre Dame is good.

Contrast with Rick Morrissey's column today:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-060905morrissey1,1,2671179.column?coll=chi-sportscolumnistfront-hed

 

He's that big a fan of Notre Dame and he doesn't know if they have an off week?