Major League Baseball has the Yankees and the National Football League has the Packers. Two professional sports franchises in which fans love or love to hate. With eight national championships, the last of which came in 1988, Notre Dame football is no different. As the most successful teams of their respective sports, it is easy to see why few fans filter toward the middle of this love-hate relationship.
Naturally, it also fails to keep fans away from their TV sets. By no means is college football lost without the success of the Irish. But just as the Yankees inject excitement into October baseball, Notre Dame amplifies the national championship spotlight upon a successful season.
Saturday night, Notre Dame Head Coach Tyrone Willingham paced the sidelines, asserting a familiar scowl in his much-anticipated debut. A new era of Irish football was unveiled as Willingham's West Coast Offense added much-needed flavor to a unit in desperate need of a makeover from its previous option attack. Junior quarterback Carlyle Holiday passed for 226 yards against Maryland but failed to lead the Irish into the end zone. Instead, ND capitalized on three Maryland turnovers and five field goals by senior place kicker Nick Setta. But in order for the Irish to return to its winning ways, settling for Setta won't be an option.
It's too soon to tell if Willingham will be able to right the ship of a once-triumphant program or follow in the footsteps of his unsuccessful predecessor Bob Davie. His no-nonsense attitude and high attention to detail seem to be a perfect fit for a program looking to add another national title to its already glamorous trophy case.
A return to glory will not be easy as the Irish continue to schedule college football's heavyweights. In addition to the usual suspects
in 2002, such as Stanford, Michigan State, Purdue and USC, Notre Dame hosts Michigan and travels to Florida State. Future opponents also include Michigan and Florida State, as well as perennial powers Tennessee, Washington and UCLA. Certainly not an easy task for a program looking for a bowl berth, let alone a national championship.
Nobody wants to see a mediocre Notre Dame football team play in a BCS game just because of the golden dome, Touchdown Jesus or past success.
However, if the Irish can eventually improve to a level comparable with Miami, Florida State and Nebraska, college football will flourish with unparalleled enthusiasm. Team sport thrives on history and tradition.
Each year the opposition craves a chance to beat the best, just as fans love to see the best prosper or fail. Notre Dame's success makes this happen for college football.
This is not the Irish's year to win the National Championship or compete for a BCS bid. But this might be the beginning of Notre Dame's return to glory and college football's ascendance to unrivaled supremacy.
