Notre Dame Bowl Trip Is No Strike, But a Spare Will Suffice

If you are a member of Notre Dame Nation (alums and subway alums alike) you probably have a distinct opinion on Notre Dame’s acceptance to play in a bowl game with a 6-6 overall record.

Moreover, aside from the mere acceptance of the bowl bid it is probably safe to say you have an even more distinct opinion on the actual bowl game itself.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, Notre Dame accepted a bid this past Sunday to play in the Sheraton Hotels Hawaii bowl on Christmas Eve at 8 p.m. EST.

This marks the third bowl game that Charlie Weis has lead the Irish to after Tyrone Willingham led the Irish to two such games prior to Weis’ tenure (though he only coached one of them, as Kent Baer served as interim Head Coach in the 2004 Insight Bowl).

Bowl games are generally exciting attractions for universities, as they provide additional practice time/experience for the upcoming season and instant cash flow for the sake of merely showing up to play.

Moreover, they provide adoring fans yet another opportunity to see their teams play whether it be live and in person or on TV.

So, I beg the question, what is all the fuss about? If you read any fan forum or message board, you would think the sky is falling and the program had lost all of its games this year.

Aside from even accepting the bid, people are complaining about ND choosing to play on Christmas Eve (what some ignorant people are calling the holiest day of the year, even though Easter Sunday actually holds that title).

They claim that more viable options existed, such as the Texas Bowl on Dec. 30.  They say ND should only accept more lucrative bids, such as BCS Bowls, Cotton Bowls, or Gator Bowls.

Perhaps the most shocking thing to me is that people are complaining about IMPROVEMENT. Sure, ND blew a number of games late in the year and lost to a hapless Syracuse team.

But facts are facts: ND was 3-9 in 2007 without a bowl bid and are now 6-6 with a bowl game in the near future.

Consider where the program was last year and ask yourself this question: Can I honestly say that I expected ND to be in the national title game this year?

If you truthfully answered “yes” then I suggest you submit yourself to a psychiatric evaluation.

It simply is not logical (nor probable) to believe that ND would have transformed from 3-9 to 12-0, 11-1, or even 10-2. Heck, even 9-3 would have been a stretch, although it might have happened had the Irish closed out games against UNC, Pitt, and Syracuse.

ND has played with at least 12 underclassmen starters this season. At least 26 underclassmen have received playing time this season.

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