Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1438218
6 JANUARY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FAN FORUM MINORITY VIEWS I realize these are minority views amongst Notre Dame alumni and fans, but here goes. 1. I do not appreciate players opt- ing out of bowl games or, in some in- stances, parts of a season. You are either on the team or you are not. Playing in the team's games is a rather signifi- cant component of being on a team. If you don't intend to play in the games when you are healthy, then don't join the team. The team needs players who … play! 2. The foolishness of the continuing obsession with independence for our football team was highlighted again this season. No conference championship game potentially cost the Irish a playoff opportunity this year given our fifth- place finish. By having only a national championship as a goal, many seasons are over when a second loss occurs be- fore the leaves have changed. And with no title in the last 33 years, how realistic has that single goal been? If a confer- ence is ever joined, think twice about the ACC. The tepid matchups this con- ference offers have contributed to the first empty seats in the stadium in de- cades, not to mention a long list of less- than-captivating games. 3. Why we have forsaken longstand- ing traditional foes like Purdue and Michigan State yet kept Stanford as a regular is beyond me. We have no great, lengthy rivalry with Stanford. We have watched their band ridicule the pope on our own field. And when we play in Palo Alto the stands are half empty. Such was never the case in East Lansing or West Lafayette. Tom Derengoski ND '70 Lansing, Mich. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: sdowney@comanpub.com Notre Dame naming Marcus Freeman its new head coach was universally well received by Fighting Irish faithful. After Freeman penned a letter to Notre Dame for The Players' Tribune, positive reaction flowed in on our message board at BlueandGold.com. Here is a sampling of the opinions expressed: UserND83: Great job by Marcus. Very well done and you get the very real sense that he means every word of it. jpm34_NDFI: Positive vibes. Hope for nothing but the best for him. ToledoJohnny: Yeah … the players on this and future teams will absolutely run through a wall for Coach Freeman. Heck, I would (in my younger days). Very, very happy about Coach [Tommy] Rees also! What a duo! None99: Man, this guy just 'gets' Notre Dame. Some do, many don't. Not sure if [Brian] Kelly ever did but that's irrelevant now. Marcus simply em- braces the uniqueness of Notre Dame and uses it to become a better man. Proud to have him as our coach. UserND83: Kelly was way more successful than Bob Davie and being the politician he is, said more proper things about the University than Davie, but I always felt neither one fully bought in. It's nice when a coach does. It just feels better. If it's a choice between successful and buying in, I'll take successful every time. That's in part why I was so tolerant and backing of Brian Kelly here. But when you get both success and buying in, that's when legends are created. Let's hope the success follows and a legend is created. I'll be rooting for the guy. johnnyh: The very fact he wrote this piece says a lot to me … Not trying to take a parting shot at Coach Kelly (but I am), but he would never have written anything resembling this. I think he felt Notre Dame was lucky to have him, instead of he being lucky to be at Notre Dame. I think he always felt that way. I think with Coach Freeman, it's pretty obvious he feels the complete opposite. Jaybird173: I could not possibly be more excited for the future of this program. jayedees: I can't picture another ND coach in my lifetime putting out a mis- sion statement in public. Even the good ones wouldn't spill like that. I'm calling it now. He's going to crush it at ND. zzzzcoach: What a great read. How can you NOT root for this guy?!?!?! homasna: The candor with which he wrote that letter was refreshing. Fitz23: Much more important than his players running through a wall for him, is that each and every player (and coach) will know, without any doubt, that Coach Freeman will run through any wall for them! The Big Montana: Great article. I continue to be tremendously impressed by Marcus Freeman the man. We'll see about Marcus Freeman the coach very soon. I found this part particularly interesting, and not something that will be overlooked here in Columbus. After talking about choosing Ohio State over Notre Dame as an undergrad, he talks about his decision to join the Irish over LSU and notes "We all know it's something special. And I just thank God that I didn't make the wrong decision twice." In other words, he's saying that choosing Ohio State over Notre Dame was the wrong decision. Doesn't matter much in the end, but maybe his heart is a bit more Irish than we all assumed. UDPride: Brian Kelly would never take the time to write this. NEVER. This alone tells me Marcus is willing to spread his tentacles and go to lengths to sell the ND brand that our prior head never would. We may lose out on recruits, but it doesn't appear to me it will be for a lack of turning over every stone. unclemikey: That was simply inspiring on all levels. FROM THE WEBSITE .com .com The appointment of Marcus Freeman as head coach has unified and ener- gized the entire Notre Dame community and fan base. His personal letter published in The Player's Tribune was met with rave reviews. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER