Notre Dame Students React Harshly to Rain, BC Drubbing

Vasectomy patients perform with more potency than did the Irish, who were reduced to deal as the Wicked Witch of the West once did in the water pouring from the Beantown night sky. Road shutouts against rivals tend to do that.

For all the Bruce Springsteen-blasting, X’s-and-O’s-scheming preparation with which Charlie Weis soaks his players, the team hadn’t practiced in any meaningful rainfall all season. When rain poured on South Bend in the early portion of the UNC week, Weis took practice inside the Loftus Center.

Game-watches across campus seemed dampened. The renowned Duncan Hall six-man—yes, its residents dub it "the Penthouse," and they even have printed business cards to market their parties—reacted harshly the morning after.

“They want to be a bunch of girls and take it inside to Loftus so they don’t get wet,” vented junior Jorge Romero, referring to the team’s indoor practice facility. “How are you preparing your team for Boston like that? What if it rains?”

“Then they relocate the game to Loftus,” appended Noah Franske, a junior trombone in the band. “But BC had to play in the same rain as we did.”

Yet Jimmy Clausen threw four interceptions—all the result of overthrows at least aided by slippery grip—and played in the shadow of 9-for-22 BC quarterback Chris Crane, who tossed no INTs but helped turn only one of five Irish turnovers into a touchdown. It should have been uglier.

The only other Eagles TD came from the defense: a pick-six from safety Paul Anderson. To term BC’s offense confident would be, well, to err on the side of Boston. But its defense held ND to 66 yards rushing, blocked a punt, and twice intercepted Clausen deep in Eagles territory.

Perhaps the picks and uninspiring play in general were also the result of pampering during rainy South Bend practice days. If it’s preparation that breeds confidence, the offense needed some Zoloft.

“It was depressing,” Franske lamented.

Suddenly humored, Romero smiled. “Maybe we’ll boycott the next home game in protest,” he quipped. The smile grew, for the first time since 7:55 the previous night.