Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Regardless of the final score on Sept. 1, everybody involved in Notre Dame's trip to Dublin is coming home a win- ner. Players get the chance to see another part of the world — a chance that most ath- letes sacrifice during their college years. Fans, even those watching from home, get a com- pletely unique backdrop and some added excitement to kick off the football season in grand fashion. Ireland and its struggling economy potentially get a nine-digit shot in the arm from the influx of tourists. Stop me when I get to the bad part. Is the timing ideal at the start of the sea- son? No, but they'll have plenty of experts telling them how to avoid jet lag, and what college student has a normal sleep schedule anyway? If Notre Dame loses a football game in September, a lack of sleep will be pretty low on the list of causes. Notre Dame and its fans claim despite a lack of success in recent years that theirs is still a special program. Events like the Em- erald Isle Classic justify that statement. The list of teams with the opportunity to pull off something like this is mighty short. Be thank- ful, Irish fans. year represented the most points it amassed in a victory against the Midshipmen since posting the same number in a 56-13 romp in 1987. A year later, the national champion Irish strug- gled most of the game before defeating the 3-8 Midshipmen, 22-7. With Navy the opener this year, it is interest- Notre Dame's 56-14 victory against Navy last ✦ GIMME FIVE ing that since 2000 Notre Dame has eclipsed 30 points only two times in their last 12 openers: 42-21 at Pitt in 2005 and 35-0 versus Nevada in 2009. In the past six years, the Irish averaged 20.3 Dan Fox and his teammates will experience something new with their overseas trip to Ireland to open the season, but will it come with an expense down the road? PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA SHOULD NOTRE DAME BE STARTING ITS SEASON BY CROSSING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN FOR A FOOTBALL GAME? Join Navy And See The World Point ✦ Counterpoint: By Dan Murphy Dublin Trip Is Unnecessary Don't get me wrong; that the Notre Dame football team has an opportunity to play in a foreign country to open the 2012 season is pretty cool. And for scribes paid to cover the team it's equally thrilling. No complaints here. It has been reported that roughly 35,000 By Wes Morgan Americans will make the trip to Ireland for the Sept. 1 game against rival Navy at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. Here's guessing most of them are Fighting Irish fans — alumni in particular — with the means to travel halfway around the globe to watch a football game. But what about everyone else? What about players' parents who already struggle to make it to South Bend to watch their sons compete? Each member of the squad gets four tickets to every game. Senior linebacker Dan Fox has 16 and counting because so many of his teammates' families will be unable to attend the game. More than anything this is another oppor- tunity for Notre Dame to flex its monetary muscle, which is fine. It's a flashy way to grab the attention of recruits. It's another perk of being independent. And, in my opinion, it's a little over the top for a team that is 32-31 over the past five seasons. Notre DameFootball Tickets 24 years in business BUY ✦ SELL ✦ TRADE BEST SELECTION & PRICES www.NotreDameTickets.com points in openers, starting with the hard fought 14-10 victory at Georgia Tech in 2006 when quarterback Brady Quinn and Co. were ranked No. 2. Here are the last five opening-game results: Opponent (Year) 1. Georgia Tech (2007) 2. San Diego State (2008) 3. Nevada (2009) 4. Purdue (2010) 5. South Florida (2011) Result L, 33-3 W, 21-13 W, 35-0 W, 23-12 L, 23-20 Moving? Let our customer service department know your new address! Call us 1-800-421-7751 www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2012 17 Call 1-800-925-2500 for friendly, personal service and a Special Discount today! Tickets also available for other nationwide events including MLB, NFL, Auto racing, NBA, all sports, concerts