Catholic and Think ND Sucks?
Sorry if this has been done to death, but...
You know how Notre Dame is always played up as "the" Catholic university? And how, like, you know, Catholics should maybe cheer for them because of that?
Well, this hobo's a Catholic hobo and he still thinks ND's an overrated sinkhole full of insufferable bores occupying a patch of ground in one of the places of the earth that God has definitely abandoned, aka South Bend.
Who's with me? Anti-ND Catholics represent!
And Go Blue saecula saeculorm!*
*Latin nerds or more attentive Catholics will undoubtedly be correcting this.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:01 PM ^
I was raised Catholic (don't practice anymore) but I've always hated ND as long as I can remember.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:14 PM ^
Yeah me too. I'm Catholic and can't stand the football team. It annoys me that they really think God wants them to win. I still have respect for the school though.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:04 PM ^
Go Blue in saecula saeculorum
September 11th, 2009 at 6:16 PM ^
Gratias tibi ago
September 11th, 2009 at 6:04 PM ^
I'm a practicing Catholic and visited there when deciding between undergrad schools. I like the campus and the people I met, but cannot stand the football team.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:05 PM ^
Chunks for pope!
September 11th, 2009 at 6:06 PM ^
I too was raised Catholic.
I've found entirely seperate reasons to hate Notre Dame though.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:08 PM ^
I'm practicing, but don't really mind ND unless we lose to them. So let's hope for a W tomorrow.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:10 PM ^
... that they feel like you ought to root for them because you share a religion. As if God is sitting up there rooting for Notre Dame. How absurd is that? Everybody knows God is a UM fan... Geez.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:22 PM ^
Lovely Campus, great academics, the people aren't so bad once you get to know them. I have great respect for the school, but I despise DESPISE their football team.
DESPISE
September 11th, 2009 at 6:31 PM ^
My first year at Michigan, my mom called me on the day of the game to say she was cheering for ND (she is more Catholic than I could ever be) just because it is THE Catholic university. I couldn't look at her when I went home for Thanksgiving. I can now, but only because 25 years have passed and she never did it again.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:36 PM ^
I'm a raised and practicing catholic who goes to high school across the street from notre dame and i hate them. I have even gone to mass on campus. Its a beautiful place but I hate notre dame.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:43 PM ^
I am from saint Louis where everyone is catholic and obviously roots for notre dame (except me). Being a
michigan fan, I got so much crap in highschool and my hatred just kept growing and growing. I would give up my religion before I would ever root for the domers!
September 11th, 2009 at 6:43 PM ^
I was raised Catholic in Chicago and had bright red hair and freckles growing up. You can probably imagine how many times I had to explain why I rooted for Michigan rather than ND. I'm getting frustrated again just thinking about it. Somebody pass me the bottle of Jameson.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:46 PM ^
Nice campus...Horrible city! Let's not confuse the two. Been there twice and there is no comparison to Ann arbor. Great campus intertwined beautifully with a great town. There is nothing better! Also let's not forget that their stadium is just a smaller shittier version of ours.
September 11th, 2009 at 8:07 PM ^
No doubt!
I'm a Catholic grad student at ND, but was raised in a Michigan family & did my undergrad at the UM. It was a HUGE adjustment going from the best college town ever to South Bend. The campus is beautiful, I have several good friends here, the academics are solid, but I hate the football team, and nothing (NOTHING) is going on in town.
September 11th, 2009 at 7:19 PM ^
There are a zillion Catholic universities in this country. I never understood why, as a Catholic, I should have to like Notre Dame. Why can't I like Boston College or Marquette or Xavier (for example) instead?
September 11th, 2009 at 7:35 PM ^
I've gotta go hometown and root for University of Detroit!
September 11th, 2009 at 8:09 PM ^
I especially love it when ND plays other schools named "St. Mary's" or somesuch, because ND fans still think the Mother of God is rooting for them, and not that other school she's patroness of.
September 12th, 2009 at 12:47 AM ^
ND really put on a phenomenal marketing campaign in the early 20th century to position itself as the school Catholics should identify with. You had huge numbers of people on the East Coast arbitrarily forming a rooting interest in a school located hundreds of miles away, and which at the time wasn't all that prestigious academically. Pretty bizarre if you really think about it.
September 11th, 2009 at 7:25 PM ^
I have my daughter in a Catholic school. I was raised Catholic, but have been trying to get excommunicated for years. What does a guy have to do to get excommunicated around here?
Both my parents are/were ND fans and I have never rooted for them a day in my life.
I was 8 years old when Bo became coach and a precocious little sports fan. Bo is the latest Prophet and the only one I could possibly follow.
September 11th, 2009 at 8:02 PM ^
to get excommunicated?
Stop giving money might be a start. But I'm sure they'd send you a bill for all the wafers you've consumed over the years.
September 11th, 2009 at 9:14 PM ^
For some reason, I love to down-vote the King of Belch. Maybe it's the memory of that horrible avatar. I don't know.
September 11th, 2009 at 9:28 PM ^
As to why you love to neg me:
You're an idiot.
September 11th, 2009 at 7:29 PM ^
There is no way on God's Green Earth (or any other) that I am going to root for ND. No f'ing way.
Either you abide by your Catholic principles, or you don't. ND doesn't. The "Catholic" part goes no further than Touchdown Jesus. Therefore, I can, in good "faith" pray for their loss and ruination without the slightest bit of remorse.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:27 PM ^
Notre Dame is only Catholic in name. They've continually disregarded the churches interpretations and teachings.
That said, if you say you're Catholic, you should root AGAINST Notre Dame on the aforementioned grounds. Oh, and because they suck!
September 11th, 2009 at 7:39 PM ^
I have a love/hate relationship with the school. In the abstract, I absolutely detest their self-aggrandizing attitude, I think their academics are overrated, and of course I think their football team is a joke (at least in this decade). I have a few friends that go there and I am merciless when it comes to giving them a hard time about their choice of college.
However, I do visit their campus about twice a year, and although I always drive down expecting the worst, it never ceases to amaze me how much of a good time I always end up having, and how many nice people I run into. In all honesty, it really vexes me because it takes the air out of all of the negative perceptions that I have of their university (the same ones that I am always very quick to vocalize). I almost wish somebody there would punch me in the face so I could have something legitimate to complain about.
Then, of course, I come back to Ann Arbor and see Charlie Weis blabbering at a press conference, and I return to normal.
September 11th, 2009 at 7:56 PM ^
If you were raised catholic and hate catholicism? Well, I do. So Notre Dame is an arm of the "church" and they can both suck it!
September 11th, 2009 at 8:05 PM ^
Like with many of our opposing schools, it would be silly not to respect th institution. But that has nothing to do with the football team. Sommy, what's the deal with the Hebrew lettering, which I would place in Genesis 1.
September 12th, 2009 at 2:32 AM ^
It's the cover of my all-time favorite album, and yes, it is from Genesis. "Tohu va vohu" translates roughly to "void and waste," as in, "In the beginning, the universe was void and waste."
September 11th, 2009 at 8:08 PM ^
"I just hate the notion that they feel like you ought to root for them because you share a religion."
I don't know a single ND fan who thinks this. And I know many many ND fans.
This is a nice little fiction that you wolverines have made up to help yourselves hate ND more.
September 11th, 2009 at 8:12 PM ^
Myth. I'm a grad student at ND, and I can tell you that the attitude definitely exists. Not all ND fans have it, probably not even a majority (perhaps it was more prevalent in the past?). But it's definitely there - trust me.
September 11th, 2009 at 8:32 PM ^
First off, let me extend my sympathies to you- its got to be, um, interesting going to grad school at a school you hate. I can't imagine going to Michigan as a grad student!
But I have to imagine your situation is more of a "You go to ND and you hate them!" than a "You're Catholic and you hate ND?!"
But hey, I won't deny that the sentiment exists. I just think it is much much less common than people who hate ND like to think. And personally, I think anyone who is shocked and confused that a Catholic might not be an ND fan is just stupid.
September 12th, 2009 at 12:40 AM ^
It certainly is an interesting situation. Most people take it in good fun, although there's the occasional person who gets mad/insulting. Not like I didn't know what I was getting into, though! :)
I do agree with you that the sentiment isn't as widespread as some suggest. Definitely there, though.
September 11th, 2009 at 8:22 PM ^
I am a practicing Catholic.
I hate Notre Dame's Football team with a passion.
Plenty of good Catholics hate them
September 11th, 2009 at 9:16 PM ^
Tá gráin agam ar na Éireannach! (i hate the Irish, in Irish)
September 11th, 2009 at 9:35 PM ^
I fucking hate Notre Dame and Catholicism. Just because you think your God is better, doesn't make it true. The pope is an average man. No better. He's a joke. Catholicism is a joke. Catholics prey on guilt, yet sit on Billions of dollars that could change many lives for the better. Instead it's used to cover-up pedophilic priests! I could go on. If you want to argue it. Let me know. We can take this outside this forum!
I fucking hate Notre Dame like no other!!!
September 11th, 2009 at 10:34 PM ^
Did I get negbanged because your priests are pedophiles or because your money in the offering on Sunday went to cover it up?
September 11th, 2009 at 10:40 PM ^
hey don't be a bitch. don't like church? go complain elsewhere.
September 12th, 2009 at 2:34 AM ^
Proven fact:
All Catholic priests are pedophiles. All Catholics are bad people. All of them.
September 11th, 2009 at 9:42 PM ^
I am Catholic and hate ND. We do exist.
September 11th, 2009 at 9:55 PM ^
Is the day when catholics walk around with the little clump of shit on their forehead, acting all pious and shit.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:18 PM ^
This thread is about Catholic posters who loathe Notre Dame despite being marinated in Notre Dame's resplendent glory within their faith community.
Your comment, however, is belittling somebody's religion, which I thought was one of several unspoken moves that _doesn't_ happen in a healthy blog community (somebody even said so on MGoBlog a few days ago)...so let's cool it and focus on what's really important. Beat Notre Dame.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:31 PM ^
If one introduces his mythology into a thread, it's fair game.
September 12th, 2009 at 2:26 AM ^
You're so smart.
Catholics are so dumb.
September 12th, 2009 at 2:26 AM ^
You're so smart.
Catholics are so dumb.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:41 PM ^
Thanks for the compliment.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:20 PM ^
and have hated ND since I can remember.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:38 PM ^
I went to eight years of Catholic school, and there's always a couple teachers who went there or have ties there who use their position to leverage Notre Dame's legend to impressionable minds.
I do think it is something of a legend. ND is a selective, private university, and you can get a good education there. But in terms of top-flight research and connections to the nerve centers of American power, it's no Stanford, no Michigan, no MIT/Harvard/nameit. An aside: interestingly, Boston College was started because Harvard would not admit Catholics, and now boasts many influential Jewish alumni.
Among Catholic schools I would consider Georgetown and Boston College superior academic institutions to ND (no offense to any poster with an ND degree) and other private schools like Vanderbilt offer a comparable level of achievement as well. Make no mistake - it is very important that Notre Dame win in football because winning in football markets the school and enhances their academic image vis a vis other private schools.
High school classmates of mine made hysterical claims that they had inside contacts with enough "pull" to bump a certain kid into the school.
When I was considering getting a PhD and going into teaching, I thought it would be cool to teach at a place like Notre Dame. South Bend itself kind of blows, but the school is nice to be around, sleepy but quaint, the kids are smart, have an active faith life and for the most part come from decent families so you probably don't get a lot of lip.
On football:
From personal experience and the words of other, ND's stadium staff and media relations office is by far the nicest, most helpful in the country. The press box food was great too, and my buddy and I understood why the media gives Domers such a good shake - they want to be invited back. (Catch more flies with honey.)
What sickens me about Notre Dame is that simony, the selling of church offices, is essentially what has gone on with football as ND has sought to maximize its income and marketing footprint. After firing Gerry Faust, who like Willingham was great six days a week and not good enough on Saturday, they picked Lou Holtz, a paranoid, insecure, almost sociopathic case, to get the wins they desperately sought. Now they employ a fellow who embodies gluttony, pride and the unnamed deadly sin of being a huge jerk.