Comments on: Change is Good … Sometimes

By: NCHdomer

NCHdomer — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:03:12 +0000

Terrific article. Every observation on point in the view of this crotchety old alum. Too much focus on making money and being “current” with the times. ND is a university, not a Fortune 500 corporation (or maybe now it is). If the traditions need to be pushed to the side, then join the Big Ten and watch how quickly Knute, The Four Horseman and The Gipper fade into oblivion. ND’s great wide receiver, Jim Seymour, once said to me that he hoped ND would not join a conference because we would lose all that history, the way Penn State lost its “Beast of the East” history when it joined the Big Ten. Another example is the Super Bowl – which is nothing more than the NFL Championship Game. Except for the Ice Bowl and the first telivised championship game between the Colts and Giants, everything pre-Super Bowl has been lost to history. Only the Super Bowls are kept alive in people’s memories. That gave me a new perspective. In any event, the article was a wonderful statement that articulated what many alums like myself feel. One of the special things about ND is that it has always embraced its “old school” past. College football is different from professional football. Once ND completes its transformation to an NFL experience, I for one will no longer need to make the 4 hour roundtrip to South Bend. I’ll just go to a Bears game. And if I need something more akin to a college game, I can trave to Green Bay (who modeled their stadium renovation after ND’s and are doing just fine with a grass field). What has made ND special is that prior ADs and coaches recognized that they were only temporary keepers of a great tradition. And they seemed to know that the best way to build on that tradition was to win – not change uniforms, stadium music and playing surfaces at the drop of a hat. Efforts to change these things have a subtle but implicit message that these are the things preventing ND from winning. They are not. Coaches and players determine who wins a football game. Distorted sounding music (because it is played too loud for the quality of the speakers) has not noticably helped our defense stop our opponents on third down.

By: bass-pgh

bass-pgh — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:15:38 +0000

I like the new Shamrock helmets, and I think the Irish will look great under the HD lighting tonight. Just hope they play great too and come back with a W. As for playing piped in rock or any other kind of music in ND stadium, that is the quickest way to be just like everybody else. Every stadium in the country plays Ozzie’s “Crazy Train”. ND should never strive to be just like everybody else. And what’s up with Kelly ending the pre-game walk from the basilica to the stadium ?

By: Carthy

Carthy — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:00:19 +0000

I love this post. Amen.

By: IrishSting

IrishSting — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:56:14 +0000

JUMBOTRON WE HAD ONE ONCE, MAYBE FOR ONLY ONE SEASON. WAS AT A NAVY GAME AND IT WAS BEHIND US IN THE WEST ENDZONE. FOR ME IT MADE FOR NECK PROBLEMS TURNING AROUND TO SEE THE REPLAYS. NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO SOME WILL BE FOR IT, OTHERS WONT. THE PUREST WILL NOT BE BUT FOR ME I HAVE REACHED THE POINT OF STAYING AT HOME WITH ALL IT’S COMFORT AND SEEING THE INSTANT REPLAYS.

AS FOR THOSE WHO THINK NOTRE DAME WOULD BE BETTER W/O FOOTBALL THEY JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE BENEFIT OF A TEAM SPORT IN DEVELOPING AN INDIVIDUAL. WORKING AS A UNIT REQUIRES THE ULTIMATE IN DISICPLINE. WORKING UNDER PRESSURE TO COME FROM BEHIND HELPS TO DEVELOPE SKILLS SIMILAR TO ON THE JOB TRAINING. FOR ME THERE SHOULD BE A DEGREE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO EXCELL IN SPORTS FOR THEY ARE FAR BETTER PREPARED TO SUCEED AFTER GRADUATION THAN MANY OF THE OTHER STUDENTS.

P.S. I AM NOT A SPORT JOCK.

By: kyndfan

kyndfan — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:58:11 +0000

The turf used in Green Bay makes the most sense. By the fourth home game every year we see sloppy field conditions. I would also like to see luxury boxes in order to get “down in front” guy out of our way. Standing and yelling should be expected at a football game not shunned. The jumbotron setup at New Meadowlands stadium would work well at ND.

By: NDDN

NDDN — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:46:44 +0000

What we really need is a new fight song!

How about..

Here, here at new Notre Dame
Listen to Ozzie blaring all game.
Watch the Jumbo and then buy
this week’s pink uni, “a” shirt, and some chai.
Politely clap, stay seated, that’s all.
“Get used to it”, else the ushers they’ll call!
While tradition’s thrown away
and we fade into history!

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:34:05 +0000

Kinda silly post. Do you people think that perhaps you have much less influence than you think. Lazy.

By: Bender

Bender — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:40:13 +0000

I’m with you vannie. change the grass at ND stadium? Come on man. Change is good and needed to mend broken models. However, read the comments of recruits who have come for games. All you read is they are blown away by the game day experience. We have something special in South Bend. Let’s not screw it up.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:17:33 +0000

In reply to El Kabong. And the stadium is still selling out, so looks like the new helmets are a good thing. We should ban people who disagree.

By: Kev Mo

Kev Mo — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:20:18 +0000

In reply to jjwilliams. I want to be different as well, in a way that matters. I just don't see what old uniforms and a stadium without a jumbotron get us.