Notre Dame: The Simpsons Of College Football

I'm part of the '90s generation—the generation that remembers the world without the Internet, T.G.I.F, and watchable cartoons. And, if there were several constants in my life, there were some that were certain:

1. Chicken McNuggets were made of unknown chicken bits and pure magic.

2. Raphael was the best Ninja Turtle and no one could convince me otherwise.

3. The Simpsons was the greatest television show EVER.

At it's prime, The Simpsons, quite simply, rocked. They were television and pop culture royalty. They were criticized for pushing the envelope, and yet, embraced for blazing a trail that would lead the way for so many shows.

The characters became household names and their catchphrases became part of the English language.

Bart Simpson shirts were being banned from schools for embracing the slacker lifestyle. Celebrities jumped on The Simpsons bandwagon, guest starring in almost every episode. It says a lot to have Aerosmith, Michael Jackson, Sting,  Magic Johnson, Joe Frazier and Spinal Tap as guest stars, and I only mentioned the guests in Season 3 (not to mention the classic Homer at the Bat with the MLB players as ringers).

The Simpsons became a phenomenon, revolutionizing television as we know it. Without it, there is no Family Guy, King of the Hill, South Park or Adult Swim. It's impact transcends the FOX network. It became a part of our culture.

D'oh became a word. "Cheese eating surrender monkeys" became part of our history.

Sadly, today The Simpsons is a shell of itself; silly one-bit gags and a recycled plot have made it a show that is like the old athlete that should have retired a long time ago and ended its run as they were declining.

I always have said that if The Simpsons had ended in say, 2003, it would be regarded as the greatest piece of entertainment EVER. However, The Simpsons show an occasional flash of greatness and it shows in episodes like "The Debarted" and the so-so movie.

The greatest parts of The Simpsons (the writers and Phil Hartman) have been long gone and become bigger successes. The Simpsons set up the animated prime-time comedy, but it has fallen back and stagnated when the other shows have surpassed their forefather.

Which brings me to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame, like it or not, is college football. The Golden Dome, Touchdown Jesus, and so many other landmarks of college football have made Notre Dame hallowed ground in the eyes of the fans.

There are rules set exclusively for Notre Dame, who has "too many classic rivalries" for it to be in a conference. They have their own television rights with NBC, which is huge because no other school could amass the type of contract NBC offered Notre Dame. Without Notre Dame, college football would be nowhere near what it is today.

Notre Dame became known when they defeated the Black Knights of the Hudson 35-13. It was a game that put the forward pass into the national spotlight. Before this, football was a smash-mouth, slow-paced game (much like the Big Ten today). To pass downfield for a large gain was inconceivable. Yet, Notre Dame did it.

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