Irish Eyes Are Crying: An Open Letter to Notre Dame Fans

Dear Irish Nation:

In the interest of time, I won't bury my thesis: The Fighting Irish are no longer relevant on the college football landscape.

Since 1988, when Tony Rice quarterbacked Notre Dame to a national championship, your team's winning percentage is not that far north of .500. You can blame Tyrone Willingham or Charlies Weis if you must, but the fact is this: Your program is no longer alluring to most top high school athletes.

You know that kid with 4.3 speed from Miami? He just signed with Urban Meyer's Florida Gators. Or that stud QB from Iowa? He's only considering Big Ten schools. But the 2-star fullback from Indianapolis? Brian Kelly has a chance to land him.

Twenty-plus years of evidence exists to support that last paragraph, but, really, you need look no further than Saturday's loss to Michigan. Denard Robinson, now the Heisman front-runner, diced the Irish for over 500 yards of total offense. Why? He's a top-tier athlete. Notre Dame's defense, which is slow afoot (as usual), simply didn't have the talent to stop Mr. Robinson.

"But Notre Dame has the most fans of any team in college football," you say. True. When it comes to TV contracts with NBC and worldwide fans, I agree that the Irish are indeed relevant. Very relevant. But when the discussion turns to national championships, I'm sorry to inform you: ND is not, and has not been, relevant for some time.

Not convinced. Let me ask you this: Does Notre Dame have a chance to compete for a title year in and year out? No. But the following schools do: Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Texas (just to name five). ND is lucky to become bowl-eligible, let alone crack the Top 10.

Why this vitriol? I'm sick of listening to pundits and fans argue that Notre Dame is "back" after every victory. A win against a substandard Purdue team in Week 1, and all of a sudden Brian Kelly is a genius? It. Was. Purdue. And not the Purdue of the Drew Brees or Kyle Orton eras.

Michigan, thankfully, brought Irish Nation back down to earth. Be happy that ND should beat Western Michigan, Tulsa and Army. And, with a good bounce here or there, the Irish might just land in a mid-level bowl.

In the end, all I ask of you is this, ND fans: Don't pretend that it's the 1980s. It's 2010, and your team is simply average. The tradition is there, yes, but the ND mystique is long gone. Please accept that fact.

Sincerely,

Mr. Reality