Notre Dame!!!!

[ICF]

There is quite a bit to do here. There are other quite large universities. Bethel and IUSB.
If you stayed on the South Side, I assume you were at the new Comfort Suites. I live over in that area. That was actually home to the first mall before UP. (its now a strip center)

South Bend was actually built around the Studebaker, not Notre Dame.
It has been a dying town, I cannot deny that, but it's rebirth isn't all due to Notre Dame. It isn't even really a typical college town. My sister attended Purdue and that was better, but I can agree Eddy Street Commons is helping.

I guess unless you live here its hard to describe. We have just as much to do as any typical town. We have a minor league baseball team thats ballpark just got a 10 million dollar renovation. There is ice skating, we are close to the beach and Casino.

But I am happy to see the team do well, its just overrated at times and gets shoved in your face at times. Heck when the Colts won the super bowl it didn't get nearly as much attention as the Irish having a bad season. Same when the Super Bowl was in Indy!

Really Bethel & IUSB are quite large universities? IUSB has 3300 fulltime students and Bethel (which I think is really in Mishawaka) has less than that?

ND football doesn't really impact the minor league baseball team you mention. ND football runs Sept - Nov, minor league baseball runs April - August. I also doubt they impact people heading to the beach...it gets kinda cold up there in the winter and all.

Most college towns are built around the university. Bloomington is very much the same way....except their football has sucked pretty much forever.

Maybe you're too close to it, but I can tell you the Super Bowl win by the Colts and hosting of the SB this year were a 100X a bigger story then ND's bad seasons (or even their great season this year). Nothing in my nearly 40 years of living around Indy was nearly as big a story as either of those events.

More than 80K fill the stadium for campus for each home game....they spend $$, stay overnight and help tourism. People that travel in the area during the summers come to show their kids the campus. The economic impact of ND is very big and without it, South Bend would likely just be another small Indiana town.

 

[Princess Dolly]

Who cares what it was or has been? It is what is now. ??? But, ND has an amazing history...that gets under people's skin and it passes to the next generations. I'm personally proud to be a true part of it. It really is a magical and beautiful place (not unlike Disney). For those of us who are a part, it is a chance for us to experience our hallowed past.

I can honestly say it's not the "amazing" history that gets under my skin, it is how ND has been the BCS' special snowflake. ND playing in big bowl games when other more deserving teams should have been in its spot. Disgusting how the BCS kowtowed.

 

[Arsenal1982]

I can honestly say it's not the "amazing" history that gets under my skin, it is how ND has been the BCS' special snowflake. ND playing in big bowl games when other more deserving teams should have been in its spot. Disgusting how the BCS kowtowed.

There are rules that qualify a team for consideration. Any at large berths are up to the individual bowl committee. Their job is to make money and ND brings in the most money, FACT. They have an obligation to their sponsors to do what is necessary to make as much money as possible. Further, any teams that ND was picked over, did not win their conference. So the argument that there were more deserving teams is weak at best.

It has nothing to do with being a "special snowflake," whatever that means.

 

[hallie]

Go Irish!! I grew up cheering for ND, use to go there every year. My home town team is Rutgers so I cheer for them too. And I love the Gators, I started cheering for them when I moved down to Florida 8 years ago!

So.....

Go Irish!!!
Go Rutgers!!!
Go Gators!!!

I love college football.

 

[ICF]

I can honestly say it's not the "amazing" history that gets under my skin, it is how ND has been the BCS' special snowflake. ND playing in big bowl games when other more deserving teams should have been in its spot. Disgusting how the BCS kowtowed.

You do realize of course that in the 14 years of BCS games that were played -- starting in Jan 1999, that Notre Dame has played in a GRAND TOTAL of 3 BCS bowl games.

How exactly has the "special snowflake" really hurt anyone else or the BCS "kowtowed" to them?

In those 3 years -

2001 -- ND was the #11 ranked team
2006 -- ND was the #6 ranked team
2007 -- ND was the #11 ranked team (but the the lowest in a BCS bowl as #14 Wake Forest played -- and #10 Oklahoma was only one spot higher).

So -- in 2001, they may have taken a more deserving teams spot. In 2006 they clearly deserved it and in 2007 they were one of 3 teams ranked between 10-14 that played in a BCS bowl.

http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=4809856

After the 1 v 2 match up....the bowls get to pick who they want and it's becomes about trying to maximize attendence and tv viewers. That's what helps ND get picked whenever they are a good option. ND has a large fan base all around the country and they travel well.

 

[soccerdad72]

Never been a big Notre Dame fan, but they've had a great season, especially since they weren't expected to be much more than a 9-3 team this year.

They've earned their spot in the title game and obviously will play whomever comes out of the Alabama-Georgia game. No team is without flaws this year, so anything can happen.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I can honestly say it's not the "amazing" history that gets under my skin, it is how ND has been the BCS' special snowflake. ND playing in big bowl games when other more deserving teams should have been in its spot. Disgusting how the BCS kowtowed.

Well of course. The BCS was invented to favor the South and Midwest and give the illusion of a legit national champ. And it does that which it was designed to do magnificently.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

There are rules that qualify a team for consideration. Any at large berths are up to the individual bowl committee. Their job is to make money and ND brings in the most money, FACT. They have an obligation to their sponsors to do what is necessary to make as much money as possible. Further, any teams that ND was picked over, did not win their conference. So the argument that there were more deserving teams is weak at best.
It has nothing to do with being a "special snowflake," whatever that means.

Full quote above.

So the argument that there were more deserving teams is weak at best.

Well given Notre Dame's performance since 1995 under the bowl alliances and since 1998 under the BCS, in the Big 4 Bowls they've been in, namely 0-5 with most of them blow outs, the argument they've been put where they didn't belong over the years is an easy one to make.

LSU 41 Notre Dame 14. Sugar Bowl
Ohio St. 34 Notre Dame 20 Fiesta Bowl
Oregon St. 41 Notre Dame 9 Fiesta Bowl
Florida St. 31 Notre Dame 26 Orange Bowl
Colorado 41 Notre Dame 24 Fiesta Bowl

It's a difficult argument to make that you truly belonged when you're getting blown out all the time once there. And you yourself understand they didn't really belong when you threw out this.

Their job is to make money and ND brings in the most money, FACT.

So indeed, you yourself think that Notre Dame got in to these bowls over the last decade and a half or so because they brought in the money rather than on their merits. And that explains why they keep getting blown out once there.

 

[Princess Dolly]

This is going to be so much fun leading up to the Championship Game. So easy.

 

[Danibelle]

The Irish are rated as underdogs against either Alabama or Georgia. I say this is great; Go Irish!

I knew when they beat OU they were top competitors!

 

[soccerdad72]

It's a difficult argument to make that you truly belonged when you're getting blown out all the time once there. And you yourself understand they didn't really belong when you threw out this.

I don't think the bowl committees care if ND gets blown out, as long as they're selling out the stadium for their games.

And I doubt ND cares if people think they belong or not either.

Keep in mind, I've always been somewhat annoyed that the BCS bowl selection has always been written to ensure that ND is an option and the school has done everything they can to make sure that they don't lose that perk as well.

 

[ICF]

Again -- 3 BCS games in 14 years -- one of which was when they were the 6th ranked team in the country, so hardly undeserving...regardless of how the game turned out when played.

Some of you act as if some 7-5 ND teams kept getting selected for a BCS bowl over another more deserving team.

 

[Arsenal1982]

Full quote above.



Well given Notre Dame's performance since 1995 under the bowl alliances and since 1998 under the BCS, in the Big 4 Bowls they've been in, namely 0-5 with most of them blow outs, the argument they've been put where they didn't belong over the years is an easy one to make.

LSU 41 Notre Dame 14. Sugar Bowl
Ohio St. 34 Notre Dame 20 Fiesta Bowl
Oregon St. 41 Notre Dame 9 Fiesta Bowl
Florida St. 31 Notre Dame 26 Orange Bowl
Colorado 41 Notre Dame 24 Fiesta Bowl

It's a difficult argument to make that you truly belonged when you're getting blown out all the time once there. And you yourself understand they didn't really belong when you threw out this.
So indeed, you yourself think that Notre Dame got in to these bowls over the last decade and a half or so because they brought in the money rather than on their merits. And that explains why they keep getting blown out once there.

Your argument is flawed by using game results. By your logic, a team that plays in the national title game and gets blown out was undeserving of being there (talk about monday morning quarterbacking). If a team qualifies for the BCS, you can't say they didn't belong. That is absurd and clearly shows your bias against the Irish.

Once a team qualifies for the BCS (that means they are deserving a spot), economics play a role in the decision. It doesn't mean the team picked doesn't belong, it means that the team picked, in addition to their oustanding body of work, will bring in revenue for the bowl.

 

[FireDancer]

I'm an Ohio State fan so my season is over and I don't have a dog in the SEC Vs Notre Dame fight but I don't think anyone can argue that the SEC isn't the best conference in college football and has been for a while. It pains me greatly to say that but it is true. Both Georgia and Alabama are just better all around teams than Notre Dame this year in my opinion.

As for the losses and close games, it doesn't really matter. On any given day one team can upset another and despite what the BCS wants to say that doesn't make that team any worse than they were when the day started. For example, in 2004 the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl despite losing to the 4-win Dolphins. The whole ranking system is badly flawed. It over-exaggerates both losses and wins.

Of course that also means that ND can still manage to beat the better SEC team in the National Championship game. I think it will be a good game either way and while I don't care who wins really I would prefer ND to another SEC team just to have something different.

The only thing that rubs me wrong about ND is the fiction that they are somehow better than any other school. They aren't. There was a quote about how you can go anywhere and be a national champion but only at ND can you be a legend. That is absolute bull. Whether you win for Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, ND, Oregon, or anyone else you are just as much a champion as anywhere else and you are just as big of a legend to the fans/alumni of that school. You aren't any more so because you did it for ND.

 

[Arsenal1982]

I'm an Ohio State fan so my season is over and I don't have a dog in the SEC Vs Notre Dame fight but I don't think anyone can argue that the SEC isn't the best conference in college football and has been for a while. It pains me greatly to say that but it is true. Both Georgia and Alabama are just better all around teams than Notre Dame this year in my opinion.

As for the losses and close games, it doesn't really matter. On any given day one team can upset another and despite what the BCS wants to say that doesn't make that team any worse than they were when the day started. For example, in 2004 the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl despite losing to the 4-win Dolphins. The whole ranking system is badly flawed. It over-exaggerates both losses and wins.

Of course that also means that ND can still manage to beat the better SEC team in the National Championship game. I think it will be a good game either way and while I don't care who wins really I would prefer ND to another SEC team just to have something different.

The only thing that rubs me wrong about ND is the fiction that they are somehow better than any other school. They aren't. There was a quote about how you can go anywhere and be a national champion but only at ND can you be a legend. That is absolute bull. Whether you win for Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, ND, Oregon, or anyone else you are just as much a champion as anywhere else and you are just as big of a legend to the fans/alumni of that school. You aren't any more so because you did it for ND.

I think becoming a legend takes more than just winning a championship. There needs to be more to it than that. Example: Saban is a legend as he brought back Bama when they were dead. He's also won at multiple schools.

Brian Kelly isn't just winning, he has revived a program that many thought was completely dead and would never win again. That's why he will have legendary status.

 

[FireDancer]

I think becoming a legend takes more than just winning a championship. There needs to be more to it than that. Example: Saban is a legend as he brought back Bama when they were dead. He's also won at multiple schools.

Brian Kelly isn't just winning, he has revived a program that many thought was completely dead and would never win again. That's why he will have legendary status.

As far as coaches are concerned you are spot on but the quote I paraphrased was said to high school players on a recruiting trip as if they are better national champions if they win one in South Bend as opposed to anywhere else. That is just not true.

 

[Arsenal1982]

As far as coaches are concerned you are spot on but the quote I paraphrased was said to high school players on a recruiting trip as if they are better national champions if they win one in South Bend as opposed to anywhere else. That is just not true.

True. If I was a player, I'd want to win at a school that hasn't won in some time, rather than just be one of many winning teams (like Bama). But I love ND so I'm probably biased.

 

[Princess Dolly]

I think becoming a legend takes more than just winning a championship. There needs to be more to it than that. Example: Saban is a legend as he brought back Bama when they were dead. He's also won at multiple schools.

Brian Kelly isn't just winning, he has revived a program that many thought was completely dead and would never win again. That's why he will have legendary status.

Holy crap. This is what I am talking about. ND has won 10 national titles. But all of a sudden everyone thought the program was dead and Brian Kelly has resurrected it. Oh please. Obviously the program was never near death since it is the only SPECIFIC PROGRAM that has an in to the BCS. OMG you all kill me thinking ND is so much more special than every other college program out there.

 

[Arsenal1982]

Holy crap. This is what I am talking about. ND has won 10 national titles. But all of a sudden everyone thought the program was dead and Brian Kelly has resurrected it. Oh please. Obviously the program was never near death since it is the only SPECIFIC PROGRAM that has an in to the BCS. OMG you all kill me thinking ND is so much more special than every other college program out there.

They haven't won a title since 1988. They've never been ranked #1 in the BCS until this season. They've never won a BCS bowl game. I would consider that "near death" status.

 

[Sanchez]

Your argument is flawed by using game results. By your logic, a team that plays in the national title game and gets blown out was undeserving of being there (talk about monday morning quarterbacking). If a team qualifies for the BCS, you can't say they didn't belong. That is absurd and clearly shows your bias against the Irish.

Once a team qualifies for the BCS (that means they are deserving a spot), economics play a role in the decision. It doesn't mean the team picked doesn't belong, it means that the team picked, in addition to their oustanding body of work, will bring in revenue for the bowl.

The gross flaw in your analysis is that you think that BCS spots are earned. Qualification for the BCS, outside of winning a conference championship (which Notre Dame has never done), is largely subjective. How can the 11th ranked team that is not a conference winner in any scenario deserve a spot?

Since getting to the BCS bowls is largely subjective, results of the game (which are objective) are the BEST measure in determining whether a team was deserving.