After the Fighting Irish beat the #15 Utah Utes 28-3 on Saturday, the Notre Dame fans celebrated the victory by storming the field. Seriously? This has to set a new low for the standards that justify a home crowd storming the field to celebrate a victory.
You could tell that even the AP felt embarrassed for the fans by the way that they wrote the story. They pointed out that this Notre Dame victory was "their first over a ranked team since beating Penn State in 2006, ending an 11-game skid in those games. No wonder Notre Dame students poured onto the field to celebrate with the players when time ran out."
Notre Dame football is supposed to be the most prestigious program in the land. It is why they were given their own TV contract with NBC almost 20 years ago. It is why they have remained an independent program rather than joining the Big Ten, Big East or another football conference. In past years they have attracted recruits by with the promise of competing for the national championship every year.
Granted that the Notre Dame program has been through some hard times in recent years, this may have been the football team's biggest win since the current students set foot on campus. That being said, we need to look at the bigger picture: this is only the team's fifth win of the season. Their winning percentage for the season is only .500. Most preseason predictions had Notre Dame getting 8 or even 9 wins this year, so it's not like the team is overachieving by getting 5 wins. This team is not even bowl eligible yet. What are the fans really celebrating?
The Notre Dame fans should be a little embarrassed. I would throw the yellow flag and call a penalty on them for excessive celebration.
You could tell that even the AP felt embarrassed for the fans by the way that they wrote the story. They pointed out that this Notre Dame victory was "their first over a ranked team since beating Penn State in 2006, ending an 11-game skid in those games. No wonder Notre Dame students poured onto the field to celebrate with the players when time ran out."
Notre Dame football is supposed to be the most prestigious program in the land. It is why they were given their own TV contract with NBC almost 20 years ago. It is why they have remained an independent program rather than joining the Big Ten, Big East or another football conference. In past years they have attracted recruits by with the promise of competing for the national championship every year.
Granted that the Notre Dame program has been through some hard times in recent years, this may have been the football team's biggest win since the current students set foot on campus. That being said, we need to look at the bigger picture: this is only the team's fifth win of the season. Their winning percentage for the season is only .500. Most preseason predictions had Notre Dame getting 8 or even 9 wins this year, so it's not like the team is overachieving by getting 5 wins. This team is not even bowl eligible yet. What are the fans really celebrating?
The Notre Dame fans should be a little embarrassed. I would throw the yellow flag and call a penalty on them for excessive celebration.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
