FarEastMotors: Mandate for Weis: Beat USC or Beat It: by Jay MariottiFiled under: NCAA FootballTo the swarms of Charlie Weis b.. link
about 14 minutes ago
uscmissinglink: The problem Charlie Weis has motivating #NotreDame is that win or lose, it's about him not them. And he's not very likable. #usc #cfb #domer
about 5 hours ago
coolsportstuff: Charlie Weis talks grass length against USC: Will the grass be long to slow down the Trojans, or do they keep i.. link
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latimessports: Charlie Weis talks grass length against USC: Will the grass be long to slow down the Trojans, or do they.. link
about 5 hours ago
dgd1956: At Notre Dame today. Someone (or people) have written, in chalk, around the football complex "Beat SC" and "We believe" on the sidewalks
about 8 hours ago
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Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and the Irish are off to a rough start. |
 | By Dave Begel  Special to OnMilwaukee.com E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Dave Begel |
| Published Sept. 18, 2007 at 5:25 a.m. |
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I love the fact that Britney Spears looks like a wreck, can't sing and can't dance anymore.
I love the fact that a homophobic, family-values U.S. Senator from Idaho named Larry Craig was arrested in an airport bathroom for trying to hook up for sex with an undercover male police officer.
There is lots of stuff like that I love.
But, the one that really rocks my socks is the fact that the Notre Dame football team absolutely sucks.
Is there anything better than watching Notre Dame fall to Penn State and Georgia Tech by a combined 51 points and then watch them get shut out by Michigan, 38-0? That's three games, outscored by 89 points. Incredible.
I'm one of those guys who work to discover my own character flaws and try very hard to correct them. I'm not always successful, but I try.
So, I am trying to figure out just why I, and many others, hate Notre Dame and it's football program.
Let's start with Charlie Weis. In the NFL, he was one of the most innovative and brilliant offensive minds in the league. Then he became the head coach at Notre Dame and found out a big part of his job was convincing young men to move to South Bend, Indiana and play football for a guy with a crew cut and a body that can best be described as chunky. I mean this guy sued his gastric bypass doctors for malpractice. (Full disclosure here is that my body resembles his.)
If you've ever been to South Bend, you can understand why young men might want to go somewhere else. Anywhere else.
Weis talks the talk, but he can't walk the walk in college football. He is clearly out of his league.
The next thing I hate about Notre Dame is it's holier-than-thou attitude. The Irish act like it's some kind of honor close to beatification to go there, play for them, play against them and be the Notre Dame network. I mean, how do you think NBC feels about that exclusive contract with Notre Dame?
This is an arrogant football program without any reason to be arrogant. They cry when they don't get invited to a good bowl game. They cry when the rankings come out and they aren't ranked where they feel they should be. USC could be arrogant. Wisconsin could be arrogant. They can back it up. But not Notre Dame.
The other part of this attitude thing is the refusal of Notre Dame to join a conference. I mean, even Penn State joined a conference. Notre Dame just thinks it is too special to mingle with the mere mortals in a conference.
I'm not particularly religious, but this whole "Touchdown Jesus" thing drives me nuts, too.
In case you aren't aware, the stadium is known for its view of "Touchdown Jesus," a nickname given to the large mural of the resurrected Jesus entitled "The Word of Life," which is located on the Hesburgh Library, looming over the stadium mirroring the raised arms of a referee signifying a touchdown. Expanding the stadium had an unintended side effect of partially obscuring the view of "Touchdown Jesus" from the field.
Like I said, I'm not particularly religious, but it seems the height of sacrilege to think that Jesus might be rooting for Notre Dame and approving every single move the Irish make. I mean, come on. The thing is I think Notre Dame fans really think that Jesus is on their side.
I am reminded of the old World War II joke when the German soldiers hollered that God was on their side, to which the American soldiers replied, "That's OK, we're on God's side."
I don't expect any Notre Dame fans to get that joke.
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4 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review. |
Recent Talkbacks ...
Posted by pjd1234 on Sept. 25, 2007 at 1:50 p.m. (report)
David, I do agree with you about Weiss being out of his league. He is a pro coach, one that deals with intellect better than emotions. ND is playing with 35 % of its roster as underclassman. These players thrive on emotion and Weiss is not giving it to them. Rumor has it that his team has quit on him. Let's hope not. As far as being arrogant, I disagree. See with Notre Dame, you either love them or hate them. I see you are a hater. Notre Dame is in a conference, the Big East, but not for football. Why share your TV revenue with the other teams in your league if you don't have to? I'm sure there are a lot of teams out there that wish they could. Notre Dame has always had stricter enrollment requirements, thus missing out on many 5 star players. You can't argue that the stadiums sell out when ND comes to town. They are like the NCAA version of the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone wants to root against them. Maybe you should attend a ND game and get some religion in your life. Good article though.
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Posted by a168gaj on Sept. 18, 2007 at 10:03 p.m. (report)
You have to love when everyone piles on. Where was your article the last two years? Loved, hated, but never ignored. Oh, by the way, they only played Ohio State & LSU the past two years in bowl games. Does this excuse their performance this year? No. These are blue - chip athletes that can't even block. I bleed blue and gold and am disgusted with what I have seen. Yes it will be a long sojourn to even return back to a reputable level, but I am not one to pile on. If we really want to pile on, why don't we expose the schools that play 3 pre-season games before their conference begins year in and year out (OU, TX, WV, Ohio St., I could go on for a while). And to answer you question to Notre Dame and their omnipotent attitude for remaining independent, it is all about the mighty dollar. Why should they share the tv contract dollars or the bowl game purses with schools that are 1- 10? They are in a financial position to pick and choose. Why punish them for putting themselves in that position? I suppose you believe in socialism too?
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Posted by Gordita Sanchez on Sept. 18, 2007 at 4:22 p.m. (report)
I believe you are feeling something the Germans called: Schadenfreund Inspired by schadenfreude a malicious satisfaction in the misfortunes of others From the german schaden (damage, harm) and freund (friend), taking pleasure in others misfortune to make youself feel good about your own life.
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Posted by bob8892 on Sept. 18, 2007 at 1:59 p.m. (report)
Wow. I've read some arrogant articles on this website in the past, enough so that I wonder why I keep coming back, but this one takes the cake. First, one has to love the "Charlie is fat" comments. Physical appearance is quite relevant to coaching ability. Would you have derided Tyrone Willingham for being black? Skin color is just as relevant as body size--which is to say, it isn't at all. Being the same body size yourself doesn't excuse the bigotry. Furthermore, are you really suggesting that Wisconsin has more reason to be arrogant than the football program with the second highest winning percentage of all time, tied for the most Heisman winners, the most All-Americans, an almost 100% graduation rate, and 11 national championships? Seriously? I mean, I'll agree that Notre Dame fans can be a bit gung-ho, but certainly not any more gung-ho than other programs in the country. The difference is that Notre Dame, historically, has the stats to back it up. Are you also really suggesting that Weis can't recruit? When both of his recruiting classes have been in the Top 10 in the country? I could go on, but I know this exercise is pointless. I'm pretty sure that OnMilwaukee won't post this anyway, so whatever. But, on the off-chance you read this, I wanted to say that your arrogance, bigotry, and ignorance is, quite frankly, astounding. The fact that you get off on someone else's failures... well, you can let that be on your own conscience.
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