IRT Birthday
Hey, we’re 4 years old today. How about some props?
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It's Our Birthday. We'll Do What We Want.
Irish Round Table
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November 13th, 2009 at 6:44 am
You guys are the best.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Happy birthday – of all the ND-related sites I visit, I’d put you in the top 50%. Maybe.
Favorite post to date is still “The Pit”. Two teams enter, one team leaves…
November 13th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Ros,
1) You only visit two ND sites. The IRT and the Waddicks home page, so that puts us at Number 1, Baby. Maybe.
2) You always told me this was your favorite post to date: http://www.irishroundtable.com/?p=375
November 13th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I think you’re confusing my favorite post with your favorite screen saver…
November 15th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
I Support Notre Dame
With all the debate that is sure to be looming over the next two weeks-two months (bowl game dependent), I want to offer my two cents.
When a coaching change was made in 2005, I was supportive of Notre Dame’s decision, because of where I felt the program was headed. Recruiting was at an all time low point. Fan support was wavering for the head coach. The media was critical of Notre Dame’s performance. The glow of having hired a minority coach had faded. The famous quote was that Willingham was a great coach Sunday-to-Friday, but could not consistently perform on Saturday. I agreed. The performance on the field was disappointing. We performed well against some teams, and underperformed against others. The head coach did not put in the time necessary to work on improving the direction of the program.
So, I supported Notre Dame. Based on the debacle that occurred with the hiring of George O’Leary, and the hiring of Willingham (seemed somewhat rushed, although I did not have a problem with the hire), I was not filled with confidence on how the coaching search would go. I was excited about the prospect of Urban Meyer, but not surprised when he passed on the offer (at one point his dream job). I was excited about the potential for Jon Gruden, but Notre Dame did not want to wait for him until the end of the NFL season. When Notre Dame hired Weis, I was excited about the potential of a coach with his NFL experience and success. I was excited about his opening press conference. I wanted the swagger and nastiness back. And I supported Notre Dame.
Now, as we appear to be on the cusp of another coaching change, the 5th since I graduated in 1996, I continue to support Notre Dame. Does that mean that I will not support Weis, or cheer for a loss to make it “easier” to see why Weis had to go? No. Will I be happy if Weis is let go? No. Will I be happy if Weis is retained? No. Because I am not a Weis supporter or an anti-Weis supporter (or Weis detractor, for the grammatically correct). I am a Notre Dame supporter. I want the program to succeed and I really do not care who the head coach is as long as the program succeeds. I will support whomever the head coach is next year.
That being said, I do not support sacrificing the values that makes Notre Dame the university that I was privileged to attend (oh ok, lucky to attend, for those who know me). I do not want to have to worry about our players being the disciplinary problems that sometimes exist on other teams. I do not want the university and the coach to be at odds over admission standards. I do not want to read about our players on the police blotter. I want to read about them on the award watch lists. And yes, some of the coaches that people are talking about do not have the same focus.
“Play Like a Champion” does not equal “Success at Any Cost.”
I will support Notre Dame no matter who the coach is. I will support Notre Dame next year, and the year after that, and every year until I no longer remember my name.
At this point, I do not care if the next head coach’s last name is Kelly, Peterson, Gruden, or Stoops. I will probably not be excited about a head coach whose last name is Meyer (tough, since he has been successful, but at what cost?), or Harbaugh (really?).
All I want is a coach who will succeed in all aspects of the Notre Dame Football program. I will support Notre Dame, but I wish it wasn’t so DAMN HARD!