Either way with Notre Dame you either love them or you hate them, there really is no middle ground so arguing is not going to accomplish anything. The easiest way to start a sports related argument anywhere is to just say Notre Dame.

 

Actually, I could give two f***s either way about Notre Dame. I'd say that's middle ground.

I drove out to South Bend from NY this weekend. I'm not a ND fan (Florida State) but my friends are and since it is ND and has all those traditions I went with them. I used to hate ND for many reasons, but after experiencing the game, the campus, the rituals leading up to the game, the stadium, and the aura surrounding it I got a new perspective. They have maintained pre-game traditions and rituals from the time of Knute Rockne and after witnessing it and being there I really gained a new respect for them. I'm not going to start rooting for them, but I will probably quit rooting for them to lose. That being said, I voted I hate how the media protrays them b/c that still is really annoying.

Let's be clear on the media thing - there's only three ND homers on ESPN:

 

Lou Holtz

Mike Golic

Dick Vitale (and that's a stretch)

 

Some other guys like Herbstreit give ND some credit too, but I wouldn't call him a homer. The rest of their crew HATE ND. Desmond Howard? Lee Corso? Mark Freakin' May? Pat Forde? The list goes on.

 

You can say they get a lot of coverage, but you can't say they get favorable treatment from ESPN. Most of the media are just like you and hate them for their own personal reasons.

 

The reason they're on ESPN a lot is because ND = ratings. This is about money, it's not about favoritism.

 

And for the person that says that ND didn't deserve to go the BCS bowl vs. OSU in 2005 - give me a break. That team was arguably two plays away from being undefeated (a fumble at the goaline vs. MSU and the infamous USC game). Surely they were terrible...

I hate ND with a passion and have since I was a little child. I cant stand the way the Chicago media is all over the team like its Chicago's only college team. Also, growing up on the NW side, there were all these Irish Catholics that were barely smart enough to get a high school diploma, that claim that Notre Dame is their university, although their only affiliation is their nationality/religion. Luckily, I married into a USC family, so my ND hatred goes well with them.

Unlike most people who root for a college because their parents went there, or they went there... I dont really have that option. My mom went to nursing school at a community college and my dad went to Roosevelt in the city. So, when i was young, I had no real college to root for. I picked ND in football and Duke in basketball because in the early 90s when I was of the age to start picking favorite teams... they were good. I then went on to college and graduated from Columbia College... i think at best we had a Frisbee team.

 

So, by default ND is my team. I dont hate ND, but I am not a huge fan... however I do root for them.

For the record: Weis is a prick. Hate him.

I drove out to South Bend from NY this weekend. I'm not a ND fan (Florida State) but my friends are and since it is ND and has all those traditions I went with them. I used to hate ND for many reasons, but after experiencing the game, the campus, the rituals leading up to the game, the stadium, and the aura surrounding it I got a new perspective. They have maintained pre-game traditions and rituals from the time of Knute Rockne and after witnessing it and being there I really gained a new respect for them. I'm not going to start rooting for them, but I will probably quit rooting for them to lose. That being said, I voted I hate how the media protrays them b/c that still is really annoying.

So what do you have to say to this milkman and B>W? There are no traditions with the cubs other then getting drunk and maybe watching a baseball game.

So what do you have to say to this milkman and B>W? There are no traditions with the cubs other then getting drunk and maybe watching a baseball game.

You're completely missing the point. It's college. Everyone is pretty much deeply rooted it tradition. Watching the chief dance when I was younger, that's one of the most hair raising rituals I have ever seen. But I'm not going to go around telling people they cannot find anything like it elsewhere. That's where the comparison to the Wrigley Field experience comes in. I mean, it's college gameday, it's hard not to have a great time, even if your team is s***ty.

I don't buy the Cubs comparison, because Notre Dame has a history of some sort. Like I said earlier, the Yankees would be the closest parallel, IMO.

I don't buy the Cubs comparison, because Notre Dame has a history of some sort. Like I said earlier, the Yankees would be the closest parallel, IMO.

In terms of history and how fans perceive the team, Indiana basketball would be the most dead-on comparison.

In terms of history and how fans perceive the team, Indiana basketball would be the most dead-on comparison.

 

That's not a bad one either.

In terms of history and how fans perceive the team, Indiana basketball would be the most dead-on comparison.

 

I honestly can't think of any comparison other than the Yankees that makes any sense.

You're completely missing the point. It's college. Everyone is pretty much deeply rooted it tradition. Watching the chief dance when I was younger, that's one of the most hair raising rituals I have ever seen. But I'm not going to go around telling people they cannot find anything like it elsewhere. That's where the comparison to the Wrigley Field experience comes in. I mean, it's college gameday, it's hard not to have a great time, even if your team is s***ty.

 

^^

I think it's pretty unfair to compare the Yankees to anyone. They have 26 world titles with the closest being the Cardinals with 10. No team in college football has had that type of dominance.

They've also been largely relevant for the last 20 years.

 

 

I keed, I keed.

I keed, I keed.

 

But not really.

I don't buy the Cubs comparison, because Notre Dame has a history of some sort. Like I said earlier, the Yankees would be the closest parallel, IMO.

The only reason I dont like that is that Notre Dame isnt the richest program in the country, which is why alot of people hate the yankees.

 

I also hate Notre Dame, but I WILL cheer for them once a year against UM.

OK, which one of you is actually SI Writer Stewart Mandel? It must be one of you.

Notre Dame doesnt phase me, but hearing Lou Holtz on CGD tell everyone that they are wrong about ND and that they are national title contenders made my stomach turn.

"Someone in the club tonight has stolen my ideas."

Hahahahahaha...so much for those national title hopes.

Hahahahahaha...so much for those national title hopes.

This is why is despise haters.

 

 

This is why is despise haters.

 

Because we were proven right about how the media shoves the greatness of ND down our throats even when it's unwarranted.

Because we were proven right about how the media shoves the greatness of ND down our throats even when it's unwarranted.

No, because you are annoying sore winners who want to rub things into people's faces for self-satisfaction.

No, because you are annoying sore winners who want to rub things into people's faces for self-satisfaction.

 

Fair enough.

 

That original comment wasn't really directed at you or anyone else on this site really. Just some people that I know run their mouths so I have no problem giving it back to them after a ND loss. Everyone here seems pretty cool though so I guess I could have just saved the trash talk for later.