Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FAN FORUM Justice is called for, surely. But jus- tice is not punishing all the other play- ers who put in hundred of hours of hard work. The team won the games, not certain individuals. Justice is not punishing the history of the football program, which, like it or not, is an integral component of the history of the University of Notre Dame. Is Notre Dame going to tell thou- sands of fans who paid good money to attend those games that the wins don't count? Are you going to refund their money, since by such reason- ing a fraud was generated? Is Notre Dame going to refund the millions of dollars people have spent on sou- venirs, many of which celebrated the wonderful 2012 season? The integrity of the sports programs at Notre Dame is important, and needs to be upheld. Suspending the players, if discipline is called for, upholds that integrity and would increase the re- spect for Notre Dame in the sports and education world. Vacating victories is silly, as ev- eryone will still know who won the games. It would be mean, and mean- ingless, but it will be emotionally dam- aging to millions of fans throughout the world, and the players who par- ticipated in those games. And, it will give fuel to the claim by the school's detractors, who often accuse it of act- ing "holier than thou." Because that's exactly what Notre Dame would be doing. Be fair, be just, but not destructive and vindictive; that serves no purpose. Eugene R. Wytrykus Lincoln, Calif. FROM THE WEBSITE One of the debates on BlueandGold.com's message board was whether the 31-0 victory over Michigan qualified as a "signature win" for Brian Kelly. NDdds: In the past, we would lose these games in a close battle. Kelly has done an excellent job building not only a playoff caliber team, but a "program." ATX ND: Although Oklahoma 2012 was probably a more unlikely victory, Stanford 2012 was also a win that showed the nation ND was a legit contender. Stanford went on to knock out an excellent Oregon team at the end of the season and went on to finish ranked higher than OU. But that OU game always sticks out to me because no one was giving us a chance. Hodges: I'm not so sure I would consider the Michigan thrashing a "signature win," playing at home and favored, although I would most definitely consider it a "statement game." So, if status quo in the rankings holds, then those games would be at FSU and USC, and maybe ASU. Wjasonp: Not sure this can be considered a signature win, but at the end of the year, if we look back after an 11-1/12-0 season, then I definitely think it could be classified as the gas that started that fire. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007 Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com