Notre Dame Staring Into the Eyes of Agonizng Defeat: No Ifs, Ands or Buts

"Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success."

Saturday, Sept. 12, was a poor start to a highly anticipated football season for me.

I spent the first part of my day in the pouring rain of New Jersey, seeing my high school lose a heartbreaker after leading 21-18 going into halftime.

The second part of my day consisted of watching my favorite program in all of sports lose to a bitter rival after winning the first half 20-17.

After seeing the referees walk away from a hobbled Charlie Weis after the clock hit 0:01, a few minutes of screaming followed.

"Refs, you blew this game! Get off the field and go call back another indisputable play! Why don't you call another holding call on Sam Young for a simple pancake block? Oh, and you're going to call back a 70-yard pass by Rudolph for that call, too? Fantastic!"

Looking back at those quotes, I can only wish it had been that clean.

As I walked away from my television with steam fuming out my ears, mixed emotions spilling from my body, and exhausted from defeat, I took some time to relax.

When I woke up, I decided to write this piece. Back to reality, reading thousands of posts across the Notre Dame Internet world, and looking back on the game, I feel there are a few things that need to be straightened out.

There are no "what-ifs" in college football.

What if the refs had awarded the Irish the second left on the clock?

What if the refs hadn't been straight off the street?

What if they hadn't called back a screen-play touchdown from Allen?

What if Nick Tausch hadn't missed a 28-yard field goal in his first career attempt?

These are all some examples I have seen over the past few hours on various Notre Dame communities, and my answer to all of these are simple: We lost the football game.

Michigan outplayed Notre Dame with a freshman quarterback in Ann Arbor and won. Did the Irish make many mistakes and beat themselves most of the game? Absolutely. But in the end, Michigan deserves a round of applause for winning the football game.

It just doesn't matter that the offense played well—the defense didn't.

It doesn't matter that the refs made some awful calls—plenty of Irish teams have been victimized by similar calls yet still come out with a win.

It doesn't matter that you think Notre Dame should have won—they didn't.

Sports are full of ups and downs. You can't experience great thrills and happiness without dealing with tears and defeat.

Being a good winner in sports is simple.

But being a good loser in sports is one of the hardest things to accomplish, especially in the eyes of agonizing defeat.

The true definition of a fan will be defined today, on Sept. 13, 2009. Those Irish fans who are behind Weis and his team will be angry and tired. Yet, these same people will back Weis and his team and support them for the rest of the season.

College football teams don't play two games—they play 12.

So here is my challenge to the Notre Dame fans all over. Are you going to give up because of one bump in the road, or are you going to help get them over that bump?

Some of you might be tired of supporting an inconsistent team. I, for one, might be.

Some of you might be tired of supporting Charlie Weis and his lack of success in big games and games he should win. Again, I might be one of you this season.

However, some of you are tired of supporting the program, and that is where the line between a true fan and a bandwagon fan divides.

Find out what kind of fan you are, commit to it, and challenge yourself.

*This is a message to all Notre Dame fans across the world. This is not directed solely to the ND community of B/R.