Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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SEASON'S BEST Football Awards Show honors outstanding Irish of 2011 moments, a lot of laughs and some insight into the lives of a group of seniors whose time with the program went by in a flash. Athletics director Jack Swarbrick T took time out to poke fun at some of the decisions made throughout the season to liven up the Notre Dame Stadium experience and the tweaks made to the uniforms. He said the new helmets and playing "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne at home games prompted a lot of feedback, good and bad. Few will debate the recipient of the night's biggest award, however. The two-hour ceremony finished with the Most Valuable Player honor going to senior wideout Michael Floyd, who gave an emotional speech thanking numerous people that helped him through a difficult year off the field and another stellar one on it. "I'm truly blessed to receive this award," Floyd told Blue & Gold Il- lustrated after the show. "When the times were bad, I made adjustments and I got through it. Now I'm in a good situation. It was just saying thanks to everybody who helped me through the good, the bad and the ugly." Head coach Brian Kelly pre- sented the award to Floyd, who was stripped of his captainship and in- definitely suspended from the team after a March 20 arrest for operating a vehicle under the influence of al- cohol. Floyd was allowed to remain in school and was reinstated to the 18 JANUARY 2012 Senior wide receiver Michael Floyd, who finished the regular season with a Notre Dame single-season record 95 receptions, thanked the otherwise unnoticed people who helped him through a tumultuous year while accepting his second consecutive MVP trophy at the team's award ceremony. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY WES MORGAN he Notre Dame Football Awards Show on Dec. 9 at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center featured a few surprises, some touching