Blue and Gold Illustrated

Sept. 17, 2018

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 17, 2018 5 FAN FORUM TITLE TRACK I could not agree more with John Gaski's letter about Notre Dame and their insistence on not count- ing all of our national champion- ships. We must be the only school in the country that does this. I live in Michigan and it is borderline em- barrassing what the University of Michigan counts as their "national championships." What I am asking is why Notre Dame does it, but more importantly, why would Blue & Gold Illustrated do it? Thanks, you guys do a great job. I should know as I have subscribed since 1987. Steve Roach Ada, Mich. Mr. Roach, thank you for your sup- port through all these decades. The uni- versity has been consistent with the 11 "consensus" national titles stance, while also pointing out that there have been 11 other seasons where Notre Dame received some national title recognition, includ- ing 1967 when it was only 8-2. We've also always made a point to point out in our writings that the Irish receiving the MacArthur Bowl Award in 1964 is emblematic of a national title, even though it is not "consensus." OVERHYPED SCHEDULES I find it interesting that year after year, the Notre Dame football sched- ule is said to be "challenging" or "competitive." Apparently this year is no different. Notre Dame has four schools on the schedule with records below .500 from last year (Ball State, Vander- bilt, Pitt and Syracuse), and of course there is always Navy, whose scheme is supposed to present problems. I see only two bona fide and com- petitive games in 2018: Northwest- ern and USC. For the remaining schedule, Brian Kelly and his group should blow right through. If not, his tenure as head coach will come into question. Art M. Arriaga Via the Internet Mr. Arriaga, it can't be overlooked that Stanford has won seven of the last nine versus Notre Dame, Virginia Tech has been a top-20 program for 25 years, Florida State consistently has top-10 re- cruiting classes, and that both Pitt and Syracuse have defeated College Football Playoff-bound or national champion Clemson the past two seasons. FROM THE WEBSITE The opening-game victory versus No. 14 Michigan was not only uplifting to Notre Dame in the polls, but the "Green Out" was eye-catching and the overall environment made for a tremendous evening. Here were some thoughts shared on BlueandGold.com: Petrock: I am 51 years old and have been going to Notre Dame games since the mid '70s. I did not get to a home game last year, so as I sat in the stadium on Saturday night I couldn't help but think how far ND has come with its game day and stadium experience. The turf, the luxury suites, the video board, the music, the new seating, right down to the helmets. It is all fantastic and I love all of it. I will always be thankful to Brian Kelly, Jack Swarbrick and the current administration for having a vi- sion and seeing it through. I know there are some that say it doesn't feel like Notre Dame anymore, but I am not in that group. This is relevant and current for today's environment, and it makes for a much better fan experience in my opinion. Xray93: Loved it. The Jumbotron really gets people into the games and has made this one of the toughest places in the nation for visiting teams to win. Seang15: I've seen games at Georgia, Alabama, Florida State and Tennessee. As I observed the stadium, when "Back in Black" was being played in particular, I was transported back to some of the most hostile environments in football. Notre Dame is on the way to being considered a true big-time environment. Anyone that complains that this isn't Notre Dame anymore just reinforces the notion that Notre Dame is a past program that can't adapt to the current trends. To those people I'll just say take that backward thinking somewhere else, you can't stop this train. Go Irish! JohnnyH: Hate the turf. Everything else is spectacular. Polaris6: Was good right up to the point where with about four minutes left they also had women's volleyball highlights and a priest talking about Sunday Mass. Sorry, during those clips a lot of eye rolling and chuckles were passed around. Abilinski: Now if they just stop playing "Crazy Train," that would be sweet. FightinMike87: They played it right before Tillery made the strip sack to seal the game. It can stay. Kwsusmc: Loudest and most sustained loudness I've heard at ND. I've been going every year since 2008. The closest I've heard the stadium to Saturday was the 2012 goal-line stand versus Stanford. 2581: I have believed for years that Notre Dame kills enthusiasm in the stadium by introducing profes- sors and research teams. It is fine for ND to recognize academic excellence, but why can't it be done before the game? When it is done during the game, it sucks the energy out of the crowd every time. Enthusiasm can't be turned on and off like a switch. Irish2010: That was the loudest I've heard the crowd at Notre Dame since probably when Jeff Sa- mardzija caught the winning touchdown against UCLA. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Blue & Gold Illustrated / Letters P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com Notre Dame's "Green Out" for its season opener Sept. 1 drew rave reviews from fans in attendance. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

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