Next there is Air Force. The round robin competition between the three
service academies is special year in and year out. Both the Army and
Air Force games make up the battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
With a trip to Washington and a chance to meet the President on the
line these games share a particular importance.
But I hate Notre Dame. No, I really HATE NOTRE DAME! I hate their
colors, their history, their over played fight song, just everything about
them. On so many levels the Fighting Irish just repulse me. I like a
lot of teams in college football, but each week I only love two teams,
Navy and whoever is playing Notre Dame.
I’ll be honest; a lot of it has to do with the dominance. As you know,
the Midshipmen have not beaten Notre Dame since 1963. I wasn’t even
born in 1963. 44 years is a very long time. Add in fact, most the
games were not even close. 40 - 0 in 1964, 47 - 0 in 1969, 56 - 7 in 1970,
56 -13 in 1987 and 41 - 0 in 1989. Between 1969 and 1971 the combine
score was 124 - 7. Navy has been shutout 9 times during the streak.
The composite record of the series is 9-70-1, but the streak is what
really bothers me.
Next would have to be the arrogance of their fans. Much like Yankee
fans, they have won so much they feel like wining is their birth right.
It is like no other team is entitled to win because they are Notre
Dame. You might think this conceit would only be directed to the larger
programs the Fighting Irish call rivals, like Michigan, Purdue or USC.
But that is not the case. They have the same smug, indignant attitude
toward the Midshipmen as they do the Trojans. I will give them one
thing though, they know their team. While attending the 2004 game, I over
heard several fans discussing the third string players, by name,
without a program. But during that same game they would cheer after Kyle Eckel would make a 4 or 5 yard gain, like they stopped him for a 4 or 5
yard loss.
The next thing I despise about Notre Dame is their use of traditions.
Don’t get me wrong, tradition is a great thing, but when you bastardize
traditions to suite your purposes, you tarnish the very things you
claim to hold dear. The best example of this is “Touchdown Jesus”. Just
because the library is at the end of the football stadium and it has a
mural painted on it, that does not impose divine intervention. And for
the last time, he is not signaling touchdown!!!!
And then there are the flat out lies. Former Notre Dame Executive Vice
President Rev. Edmund P. Joyce was quoted in the November 28, 1988
issue of “The Sporting News” saying, “They (the Notre Dame football coach)
have to live without redshirting and athletic dorms and special
treatment from the admissions office”. Ha! Notre Dame freshman average a
score of 670 on the math portion of their SAT’s. Tony Rice, who was the
star quarterback on Notre Dame’s last national championship team in
1988, reportedly scored 690 on the entire test. Let’s not get into the steroid
allegations and player brushes with the law that haunt the Lou Holtz era.
All of my rage would most likely be subsided if it weren’t for Perry
Hudspeth. For those of you who are not familiar with Mr. Hudspeth, you
must not listen to the Navy radio broadcast. In 1999 Navy was ahead
24-21 with 1:20 left in the game. On 4th and 10 from the Navy 37, Notre
Dame quarterback Jarious Jackson completed a 9-yard pass to Bobby Brown.
Game over right? Not exactly. Linesman Perry Hudspeth moved the
ball forward a half a yard. After a measurement, the very tip of the
football was past the outreached chains, Notre Dame first down. A few pays
latter, Jackson to Jay Johnson for the 16-yard game-winning touchdown.
But the game was over. They were clearly short on 4th down, but
never the less, another disappointment, another loss. There’s also the
1997 almost Hail Mary, the 2002 defensive letdown, and the 2003 last
second field goal that Josh Smith almost blocked.
For the sum of disappointment, the arrogance of the fans, the
disingenuous nature of their administration and the utter dominance of the last
81 years, I just can’t put it another way. I Hate Notre Dame!