Blue and Gold Illustrated

Nov. 20, 2021

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

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 20, 2021 5 FAN FORUM PRICED OUT After reading the Todd Burlage article about the recent attendance issue, I felt another key factor was not discussed. In past years, it didn't matter who the opponent was. It was a sellout. One major change is the cost of holding a season ticket. As a longtime fan and a season ticket holder for over 20 years, I just couldn't afford it anymore. I had to relinquish my tickets because after adding the contribution to the university, two upper deck end zone tickets and a Joyce parking pass was cost- ing me $605 per game. It may not be a problem to some fans, but as a middle-class senior citizen, it forced me, along with many others I know, to watch games from my La-Z-Boy. In my opinion, greed is a contributing factor to this problem. Larry Bahnaman Orland Park, Ill. Notre Dame overcame a spate of injuries before and during the season to win eight of its first nine games. Following a relatively easy 34-6 win over Navy Nov. 6, that had Irish fans wondering whether or not this was Brian Kelly's best coaching job during his 12-year tenure. Here is a sampling of opinions from our message board on BlueandGold.com: smitty08: To me this season may prove to be his best coaching job. Thoughts? PreTill1: It is up there. I still think how he managed the QBs and offense in 2012 was pure masterful. He pulled the right trigger every time. I would probably put this right behind 2012. fedman: I would not want be out front beating the drum saying that this is his best coaching job, but I would not argue with anyone who was to claim that this is Kelly's best coaching job. No one can argue the fact that the injury bug has hurt this team. But at the same time, ND is very fortunate in how weak this schedule turned out to be. This was not done purposely — it is just one of those years where most of the teams on the schedule have had bad seasons. But regardless of how weak the schedule has turned out to be, if ND winds up at 11-1 and wins a New Year's Six bowl, then Kelly clearly deserves an A. Honeypot1234: Add to the fact just how many true freshmen have played this year and contributed on offense. Can't remember this many rookies playing since '07. NashND: They've had a pretty favorable schedule with no marquee wins, but 11-1 would still be a nice accomplishment considering the injuries. FightinMike87: If BK goes 12-1 including a NY6 bowl win it's the best coach- ing job since Holtz's title in 1988, IMO. GoldenJudge: Agree with all of the others. Certainly one of his best coach- ing years at ND. Let's not forget that so much goes into recruiting and player development in the years prior that also determines a current year's perfor- mance. I think we have also seen progress in those areas. Kcndmis97: 2012 was the best, IMO. This one won't top 2012 unless we make the playoffs and win a playoff game. 3DVision: He and the staff deserve a ton of credit. After the Toledo game, I was convinced we would lose 3 or 4 games and look awful doing it. Of course, we have benefited from our schedule but that is not Kelly's fault so people need to get over that. What is so critical is that he was able to hold things together with recruit- ing being on such an awesome trend upward. Hearing that we hit on every recruit in 2020 is great because we sure missed on a ton before. We are now recruiting the kind of players we should always have been recruiting … and getting some of them. All we need to do is figure out how to get to the next level offensively either thru stud recruits or better/different coaching. But for now, he should take a bow. NDFaninMadTown: It's really an incredible job, IMO his best season coach- ing at ND. Was just thinking this yesterday, how they've handled a number of injuries, and replacing so many good players — losing a really good DC in Clark Lea. If they lose to UVA I'd probably put it down a notch behind the 2012 sea- son, but if he wins out in regular season, regardless of what happens in bowl season, I think it's Kelly's best pure coaching season at ND. BGI User 756: Not sure how he has gotten 8 wins to date … except I know it's a reflection of the winning culture inside the locker room, which he deserves the credit. In 2016, we lose FSU, Toledo, Wisky and VT. FROM THE WEBSITE .com .com Despite a capacity of 77,622 at Notre Dame Stadium, the Fighting Irish averaged only 73,285 fans over their first six home games. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER SEND YOUR LETTERS to sdowney@comanpub.com or mail to: Blue & Gold Illustrated • P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556

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