Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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fighting words Wes morgan person on the planet expected in August, resurrecting a program that was on its way to becoming a museum exhibit. Reaching the title game required head coach Brian Kelly to become more accessible and approachable to his players after two years of rocky relations. Those same young men — some of whom were still so loyal to the previous regime that on at least one occasion last season they gathered with former head coach Charlie Weis at an off-campus residence and voiced their displeasure with Kelly — had to finally get on board with their new boss. A roster-wide bond developed in year three that won't be washed away by the Tide. "The team chemistry," Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick said after the game when asked why he felt the Fighting Irish weren't just a flash in the pan this season. "This team had an affection for each other, the members of this team and it manifested in the leadership. When you get leadership and the team really caring about each other, whether it's your basketball programs, hockey program, soccer, that's when you have a great year. I could see that in the summer, and hopefully that's one of the legacies of this team — that everybody coming up understands how important that is." Before the game, many Notre Dame players gathered in a prayer circle at midfield. A family that prays together stays together, so they say. Unfortunately, God had already created 220-pound wrecking ball running back Eddie Lacy and the five monsters on the Alabama offensive line open- ing running lanes the width of a Winnebago. Families often feature a collection of very different personalities, and junior nose guard Louis Nix, with his teammates soaking the locker room carpet with tears, stood tall with a Cheshire cat grin. "I'm not sad about it," he said. "Obviously I wanted to win, but there's something to take from this … I know me and my guys can get back to this point if we just keep working. They won the game, but we got a taste of it and we're just going to keep building on this. "[My teammates are] probably down right now, but we'll get over it. It will be the past. Alabama can hold it for a couple more months, football season will start again and somebody has to win it. There are 150 teams that can do it, or however many it is. We want to be one of them that gets back to this point." After this season, there's no reason to think the Irish can't. But if the massacre in Miami taught them one thing, it's a that a great team that plays together can and will have their faces rubbed in the dirt by a bigger, stronger, faster and more experienced program like Alabama. Notre Dame can now, must now, take that final step and develop the same characteristics. There's no doubt they're ready to do that together. ✦ Assitant Editor Wes Morgan has been with Blue & Gold Illustrated since February 2011. He can be reached at wmorgan@blueandgold.com