Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 MAY 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME As a two-time Colonial Athletic Association la- crosse champion while coaching at William & Mary and now a seven-time NCAA Tournament partici- pant during her first eight seasons at Notre Dame, Christine Halfpenny has faced and conquered many challenges during her 13 years as a college head coach. But not until 2020, one month into Halfpenny's 14th season, did the veteran coach face a foe there was no way to out-scheme or out-hustle. Gathered in a restaurant in Nashville, Tenn. — a couple hours after a win over Vander- bilt and three days before the No. 2 Irish (7-0) were set to play No. 1 North Carolina — Halfpenny and her players monitored helplessly as a wave of coronavirus cancella- tions wiped out professional and college sports, and along with it the best start in Irish women's lacrosse history. We caught up with Halfpenny after the season cancellation March 12, but before March 29, when the NCAA Division I Council approved a proposal that will provide every spring sports athlete an ex- tra season of eligibility, a provision that Halfpenny supported and should benefit from in 2021. BGI: What was the mood as the cancellation dominoes started dropping and the future of your season became more uncertain? Halfpenny: "We were like, 'Uh-oh.' With March Madness going on, we were out to din- ner watching television, and the bottom line [sports ticker] is just firing off minute-by-min- ute things that are canceled. "You just started to get a bad feeling. It was starting to get a little ominous. It all happened very quickly." BGI: You go from prepping for a matchup against No. 1 North Carolina to sharing this season cancellation message with your players. How tough was that? Halfpenny: "It was just raw. I think even immedi- ately I tried to do my best to keep it in perspective. We weren't delivering news that this was an imme- diate life-threatening situation, so we tried to keep it in perspective right away because you could see it. You were seeing the [virus] spread in Europe." BGI: What was the reaction of your players? Halfpenny: "We have smart young women on our team and I think they were really respectful of understanding the difference between tragedy and pure heartbreak. We weren't going through tragedy. "We were going through heartbreak. But that didn't keep me from shedding tears. It didn't keep anyone from shedding tears." BGI: Looking back, what was hardest for you personally through all of this? Halfpenny: "You're looking at a group in front of you that has done everything they needed and wanted to do to have this team firing on all cylinders. "This team had the 'it factor.' Their focus was unmatched. That's where the sadness really hit." BGI: What made this team so special? Halfpenny: "This was a season that we were really building on from last year and in 2018. This year was all of that building coming together and being able to say, 'This is it, we're here, and we're here to stay.' "This wasn't going to be a one-hit wonder. This felt special." — Todd D. Burlage Head Says No, Heart Says Possibly By Lou Somogyi My initial thought in mid-April is no. When you see July sporting events such as the Summer Olympics, the British Open, Wimbledon, etc., already canceled, believing that a magic elixir will occur by August would seem far-fetched. Finding a vaccine is not projected until 2021. July 1 is a crucial target date Notre Dame's Brian Kelly and other coaches have pointed to as a realistic time frame needed for a team to work on conditioning to prepare for a season. However, the Notre Dame cam- pus summer session is scheduled to be held online (not on campus) until at least July 6. If there is no school on campus in August, then likely no football, either. Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy oddly stated he wanted to get back operating by May 1, and Clem- son's Dabo Swinney provided the pep talk with "I have zero doubt [we're going to play]. This is America, man. We've stormed the beaches of Normandy. … We walked on the moon. … We've got the smartest people in the world. Listen, we're going to rise up and kick this thing right in the teeth." Losing football would be a crushing financial setback, so motivation by the NCAA/universities will be at an all-time high. Still, the virus will decide the schedule, not coaches — and concerns about a second wave of it occurring this fall remains. Reality might be somewhere in between with a later start and limited, if any, attendance. To quote Thomas Jefferson, "the flatteries of hope are as cheap, and pleasanter, than the gloom of despair." Heart Says Hopefully, Data Says No Chance By Todd D. Burlage This is one debate I hope to lose big time. But given the facts that we know about COVID-19 — and, more importantly, all that we don't know — holding a 2020 football season will not be an option this fall. Even with its aggressive quarantine orders and a rela- tively quick containment strategy, China still needed almost five full months from the start of its outbreak to begin even the most deliberate and modest return to normal life. The spread of the virus in North America is running about two months behind China, so using the five-month recov- ery model, late June is the earliest the U.S. could begin similar steps to normalcy. Meanwhile, Irish head coach Brian Kelly indicated that July 1 would be the latest date for his players to be back on campus and training for an on-time and unedited football season. It's tough to imagine 100-plus members of a football team — all home under isolation orders until at least the middle of May — gathering together on practice fields and in weight rooms less than two months later. Beyond team training in tight quarters, Notre Dame is scheduled to play in Ireland, Wisconsin and North Carolina within its first five games. Later the Irish are slated to play games in Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Hmmm? Hopefully warmer weather and social distancing will drive this virus out sooner than later, and my doomsday forecast can go with it. But given no clear timeline or detailed pandemic profile, expect safety and public health to win out over a 2020 football season. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WILL COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAVE A SEASON IN 2020? Five Questions With … WOMEN'S LACROSSE HEAD COACH CHRISTINE HALFPENNY Halfpenny guided her team to the best start in program history (7-0) and a No. 2 national ranking before the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the rest of the 2020 season in mid-March. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS