An Open Letter to Notre Dame Football Players:

Like many Irish fans, I'm a huge supporter of Notre Dame football. I read every article that mentions anything pertaining to you.

I follow recruiting in the off-season; I've memorized your schedule. I watch every second of every game.

I cheer with the crowd at your success, and curse the refs for making biased calls against you. I watch every interview, and absorb the post-game wrap ups every week. No matter what your past record has been, I always stand up for you to all those ND haters out there.  

This season, I watched you pummel Purdue in the opening game. While I wasn't thrilled with the final score, the win showed promise.

I watched with agony during the Michigan game when Dayne Crist was sidelined for the first half. I rejoiced over his return in the second half, and proudly watched your valiant efforts to regain the lead in the 4th quarter. I was disheartened by the loss, but knew you would bounce back.

In Week 3, I watched the air get sucked from your chests after Michigan State's pulled off their ballsy trick play in OT .

Losing twice in a row is tough, especially when it's only by a total of 7 points. But it showed me there was nothing broken with the Irish... Had one play here or there gone your way, you'd be approaching Week 4 undefeated. You are capable - I'm sure of it.

But I need you to know that in many ways your performance against Stanford was embarrassing. I couldn't help but shake my head, bewildered at what I was witnessing.

Now, I'm certain that you watch other college football games when you're not playing and preparing for your own. Anyone can appreciate the talent and ability that other teams like Alabama, Boise State, Texas, and Florida possess.

You too possess this talent and athleticism. We all see it. Even your haters see it; if they didn't, you wouldn't be a topic of conversation. The fact that people love to hate you is evidence enough that on some level, whether they want to admit it or not, there's something about you that they envy.

Rightly so, you have much to be proud of... Not only were you smart enough to gain acceptance into the University of Notre Dame, but you also have the discipline to attend classes AND play football. You work harder in one day than some Americans do in a month! You're blessed to have access to the best facilities money can buy. You're graced with abilities that young kids only dream of developing, and adults regret never having. You're privileged with opportunities to play on a national stage in front of millions of people on a weekly basis, and you're revered by thousands of alumni.

What I simply cannot wrap my head around is why you don't see what we see.

We see a team with an offense who can score on each and every possession.

We see a team with a defense who quashes their opponent's every move.

We see a team that could easily compete in BCS bowl games year after year.

Unfortunately, what we WATCH and what we SEE are two different things... and what we watched this week was a performance that, simply put, was not fair to your fans. It wasn't fair to Notre Dame. It wasn't fair to your coaches. More importantly, it wasn't fair to yourselves.

The difference between you and teams like Alabama, Boise State, Texas, and Florida is that they completely understand how mental errors and failing to execute will cost them a football game. Their records are a testament to this fact. Coach Mack Brown has ingrained in his players that "games are never won; they're only lost."

I don't believe that any football team can beat you worse than you beat yourselves in this respect.

Actor Will Smith once said, "You don't try to build a wall. You don't set out to build the biggest, baddest wall that's ever been built. You don't start there... You say, 'I'm going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid. Do that every single day, and soon you have a wall." (Here's the video link to that interview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLN2k0b3g70)

I admire your desire to "build a wall," Notre Dame. It's evident in the way you start each game. But this week's performance against Stanford made it painfully obvious that you're not "laying each brick as perfectly as it can be laid."

No matter how good you do in your games, ONE mental error or ONE poor execution can cause you to lose... SEVERAL of which will inevitably lead to the kind of display we observed this weekend against Stanford.

I know you're trying, and I know you want to win... But trying and wanting aren't enough.

You MUST do a better job executing to perfection. Every play... every down.

Please remember this each time your hand slaps the "Play like a champion today" sign.

Go Irish!