A Rough Time to Be Irish

Depressed...

To the point of confusion.

Why is this happening? Isn't being a Cubs fan bad enough, let alone having to deal with this? How close is this team to being listed among the elites? Five plays?

Where do we go now?

This is probably the most difficult question to answer for someone who bleeds blue and gold. I don't know. I am usually happy to offer my opinion on the current sport's debates. Does this loss mean we have to give up on the Irish? I don't know.

Perhaps this is the worst part. My whole life I grew up believing...no, knowing, that the Irish would eventually bring glory back to South Bend and silence all their critics who said they were no longer a factor in the big picture.

And now...

I'm not sure. When Charlie is fired, and at this point that is no longer a question, what are realistic expectations for the next coach?

Can we say without a doubt that next year's team will be as good or better than this 6-5 product? And the year after that? I'm not sure. In fact I would prefer to not think about it.

Will Jimmy and Golden leave? And if they do, is it worth an emotional investment in this team as I did this year? I don't know.

My whole life I believed in this team, every game no matter who their opponent, I believed that there was magic in the sound of their name.

I believed that they were the Fighting Irish and that no matter what, I would be proud of the product that was put on the field.

And now...

I don't know what to think. I know that I will continue to live and die with every Notre Dame game.

I know that I will somehow convince myself that they have a chance against a great Stanford team that is fully capable of ramming the football down every Irish throat just as UConn did so proficiently.

But I don't know if I can ever trust the Irish again.

And that is the hardest part, the questions that will surround this program for the next year. The questions I will ask myself if Jimmy and Golden, two of the best to suit up in blue and gold, decide to take the millions that surely await them in the NFL. 

I don't know what to think, but I'll always love them, no matter what, even if I don't trust them because they break my heart.

And that is the worst part about being an Irish fan, that we don't know what to believe. I hope Swarbrick makes the right decision, because as I said in my previous article.

The fate of an entire football nation rests in your hands.