keep_em_honest

November 26th, 2012 at 8:33 PM ^

The reason I hate ND is because they somehow think their athletes are academically superior to other schools when in reality they go head to head with us and OSU for all the same recruits.

I'd put Penn State in that same boat too.

M-Dog

November 26th, 2012 at 9:03 PM ^

Agreed, but It's a practical matter.  We compete directly with ND for recruits.  Since most recruiting is regional, we don't compete as much with the SEC.

That's why this year sucks for us as much as could ever be possible.  Both of our main rivals for recruits - ND and Ohio State - are undefeated and being hyped up by the media.  The clouds over these two programs over the last year are gone.  It makes it that much harder for us to beat them out for top recruits.   

snarling wolverine

November 26th, 2012 at 8:40 PM ^

They don't really touch on the thing that makes me strongly dislike ND.  It's the way many of their fans find some kind of religious narrative behind their successes.   Fans on ND message boards will ask each other to light candles in the grotto for the football team's success.  Even though the best player is Mormon and many others are not Catholic, they act like they're crusading against heathens every week (instead of, you know, playing a football game).  The notion that there could be good, God-fearing people on other teams is completely lost on them.  

 

 

UMgradMSUdad

November 26th, 2012 at 8:41 PM ^

I'm sorry, but that article sucks. I laughed out loud at this claim:

"While most schools are regional in fan-base, ND is international."

I loved the winning record from 1988-93.  Wtf! Why not a more relevant 5 year period, like the most recent years?  Why in the hell go back and cherry pick a five year period from 20 years ago?

 

Brodie

November 26th, 2012 at 8:46 PM ^

I have no problem with Notre Dame, but then I don't know more than 1 or 2 alums/fans. To me it's a rivalry based on mutual respect and similarity. 

Go Irish, viva la Midwestern football 

Ty Butterfield

November 26th, 2012 at 8:50 PM ^

I can't believe no one is bringing up the Declan Sullivan incident. This was a disgrace and people seem to be content to bury their hands in the sand and pretend this never happened. An institution than constantly lets everyone know they are "better" and have "higher standards" is selling their integrity to win some football games. What a joke.

swan flu

November 26th, 2012 at 8:53 PM ^

See, this is why I hate notre dame. I don't hate them for all the reasons this guy says I hate because they continuously claim that these are the reasons I hate them. Notre Dame is Lebron James writ large.

Pompous, self aggrandizing, country club elitist pricks.

Purkinje

November 26th, 2012 at 9:02 PM ^

You know, I don't really hate Notre Dame. Dislike, very much, but not hate. This season is the first time in my football-conscious lifetime that they've been relevant, and I would rather see anyone dethrone the SEC than root for Alabama / Georgia. (That said, I think Alabama will destroy Notre Dame.)

And if Notre Dame takes the championship, it will be all the sweeter when we hand them their first loss since 2011 next September.

M-Dog

November 26th, 2012 at 9:11 PM ^

If ND exisited in a vacuum, it would be fine.  But they don't, they exist inside an adoring, fawning, gushing media buble.

If ND were to win the NC, that's all we'll hear about, 7x24, for the next year.  Look at ESPN's coverage of the USC game.  They kept cutting into coverage of a local South Bend bar for fan reaction as if they were the local South Bend affiliate TV station instead of ESP Frickin N.  They even got Herbie and Mush gushing like cub reporters.

Are they going to cut into coverage of local bars in Athens and Tuscaloosa?  Of course not.  They're not "Good for College Football" (TM) like Notre Dame is.

 

M-Dog

November 26th, 2012 at 9:22 PM ^

ND hype vs. SEC hype.  It's a battle that has no good outcome for us.  

However, ND hype directly hurts our recruiting more than SEC hype.  So, I'll emphatically root against the SEC slightly less than I'll emphatically root against ND.  Should be a magical evening of college football.

 

phork

November 27th, 2012 at 9:31 AM ^

I counter that with this:

  1. ND Kryptonite Denard is gone
  2. You have no capable RBs or WRs
  3. You speak of this luck?  2 years previous was on your side.
  4. While T'eo is one of the all time greats at ND, most of our defense is back.  Including actual CBs and not moved from WR to CB, CBs.

dahblue

November 27th, 2012 at 9:38 AM ^

"Kryptonite" threw 4 interceptions and lost a fumble.  Also, Tate gave ND fits as well.  Also also, name our big play RB's and WR's this year.  ND is going to be good next year (after getting crushed by 40 in the bowl) but not as good as their lucky team this year, and not good enough to beat Michigan in A2.

phork

November 27th, 2012 at 1:39 PM ^

He also prevented you from getting housed by 4 touchdowns last time in AA.  And led another improbable comeback the year before @ ND.  And I am not really sure why you guys keep saying we are going to get crushed by 40 in the championship game?  Your people here also said that that USC would stomp us.  You understand that we currently own the best defence in the country?  Just because you guys got pantsed by Saban doesn't mean we are.

dahblue

November 28th, 2012 at 2:05 PM ^

Yeah...we almost lost by 4 touchdowns in A2.  Right.  People think you'll get crushed by 'Bama because they're a much better team.  They didn't barely squeek by powerhouses like Purdue, BYU and Pitt.  They pummeled good competition.

Denard had the worst QB performance I can ever recall watching and we still almost beat you...on your field...and we're not a great team this year.  Have fun washing away your tears and shame.

Brodie

November 26th, 2012 at 9:23 PM ^

Better 24/7 fawning over ND than 24/7 fawning over the ESS EEE SEE and how NO OTHER CONFERENCE MATTERS 

A team from Indiana winning the national title would be good for us and would shut up trolls like Clay Travis once and for all. That's worth it to me, especially if we beat the Domers in September. 

Ann Arbor Cardinal

November 26th, 2012 at 11:53 PM ^

that ND could compete with NFL teams. That's how absurd people get when they talk about the SEC. Anything to give those outside the SEC an argument that the SEC is merely a really strong conference and not an NFL division stuck with Div-1A opponents is good by me. SEC has owned the media for 7 years, and all arguments against it sound kind of hollow when they keep ending up #1. A break from that would be nice.

Tater

November 26th, 2012 at 11:23 PM ^

I only "hate" ND in a sort of a "fan kayfabe" kind of way.  I will be rooting for them for two reasons.  First, I'm getting really tired of seeing the SEC win every year.  The more they win, the more all of the polls vote their teams into the top of whatever number of losses they have.

Second, I want "National Champion Notre Dame" to strut into the Big House next season as if their feces is odorless, and leave with their shoulders slumped, their heads down, and a loss to Michigan. 

JamesBondHerpesMeds

November 27th, 2012 at 4:12 AM ^

He didn't even have Michigan on his Top 3.  Hell, you can give the kid credit for going to ND over SCum.  

(By SCum, I mean Southern Cal, as I am cleverly turning one of the most annoying nicknames for UofM amongst our hated rivals on its bleeding edge.  YAR HAR.)

LSAClassOf2000

November 26th, 2012 at 9:20 PM ^

"That could be considered code for, “Our other sports can share sweat with you, but our football is more special than yours.” - from the article, in reference to moving all sports but football to the ACC

I don't hate ND per se - I do have criticisms of the way they seem to manage their relationships with other conferences and programs, and yes,  their attitude does rub me the wrong way as well. 

In my mind, that statement above is sort of what they are telling the ACC (and what they told the Big East, even blowing up their TV deal because they were a voting member, then promptly leaving the conference). When Comcast starts inserting executives in various positions at NBC, I am forced to wonder if the loyalty will erode over time. I wonder if they will be forced to reconsider how special it is if they want to remain on television past the middle  of this decade actually - the NBC deal expires in 2015, after all. They've already sold out a portion of their own tradition by agreeing to play five ACC teams each year. Would ND really leave millions on the table in  potential conference payout just because of this belief of theirs? If so, it would be boldly disingenuous, in my opinion. 

lhglrkwg

November 26th, 2012 at 9:20 PM ^

My main issue with ND winning a title is

a) Future coverage of how glorious ND is will be 5x worse than current coverage of how glorious the SEC is

b) ND winning a title directly affects us as they are in our 'peer group' in the midwest. We battle with them and OSU directly for the top midwest talent. If Alabama wins another title, they may pull 1-2 extra guys out of the midwest but functionally nothing will change for Michigan

UMgradMSUdad

November 26th, 2012 at 9:50 PM ^

As far as who to root for in the game, no matter what, media types will still be claiming SEC is the best in the land.  No matter how much this annoys me, a ND win isn't going to change that at all.  ND isn't even in a conference, so SEC will still be the strongest conference in the minds of most media members.  With this, and as others have noted, our direct competition for recruits with ND, a victory by Alabama is the lesser of two evils.

turtleboy

November 26th, 2012 at 9:54 PM ^

They annoy me because as long as I've known them they've been the snobbiest of snobs, with every ND fan Ive known has been a deranged asshole slappy, and the press has all but labeled them Americas Team no matter how much they're hated. It all just makes no sense to me. They've sucked royally for as long as I can remember, and this year has been the king of undeserved accolades. They've stumbled backwards, bad officiated, injured quarterbacked, weak scheduled, and just plain lucked their way into an undefeated season, narrowly avoiding upsets by a middle of the pack Big East team, 2 6-6 B1G teams, and lowly BYU, yet the overhype fest is reaching epic new heights. I hate teams and players that are overhyped, I really hate ones that act like their shit don't stink on top of it. The press reminded Michigan fans unceasingly how many days it'd been since Michigan beat Ohio, yet we had been in the Championship hunt quite a few times, ND had been irrelevant on the field for 25 years and the press basically ignored it the entire time, waiting with baited breath for them to dominate any second now, no matter how terrible they were. It's just stupid how ESPN constantly sucks NDs dick when other teams have larger fanbases, better traditions, or most importantly, many are just much better teams. My grandfather would strongly debate that they've won "the right way" too.