What's the appeal with Notre Dame Football?

[Another Fan]

My opinion on this is very unofficial but I think they have the most fans of their team that aren't alumni.  I've never really despised the school but certainly aren't a fan by any stretch of the imagination.  I'm the kind of guy that thinks the Rudy movie is a bit sappy.

 

I'm just curious as to what the appeal is.  My mom had an uncle who was just about 100% in Irish ancestry and I know he was a big fan with no ties at all to the midwest.  I'm thinking the term Fighting Irish probably had a lot to do with it.  Or maybe it's a Catholic thing as well?

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

Catholic 

[Gray Beard]

I’ve never understood it.  They used to be very good, and there are a lot of old people and band wagoners who would root for them. My FIL follows them, and he thinks they are all clean cut good boys compared to other teams. I think in his case, there are racist motivations as well, but I really don’t want to go down that rabbit hole. 

[YoloinOhio]

My family in Buffalo are ND fans. I think because there was no real local college team to follow, they were really good when I was growing up, and the catholic thing. 

[Buffalo716]

It reps Catholicism with pride

[H2o]

When I was a kid I watched ND football every Saturday. For a long time we didn't have cable and I knew they would still be on TV. This was in the mid 80's. I loved the blue and gold. I loved the history of the team. I loved seeing "Touchdown Jesus" in the background. As an 8-9 year old kid they became my team. Been that way for 30+ years now. 

[row_33]

what is your guess on undergrad enrollment at South Bend?

 

despite all the exposure, it is well under 10,000.

 

 

ND was a staple of TV and radio coverage for many decades, along with national ranking and championships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

been there 3 times for games, Michigan split with them and some mid-major cupcake got squished, it's a great place to watch a game.

 

[SirAndrew]

6 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

My family in Buffalo are ND fans. I think because there was no real local college team to follow, they were really good when I was growing up, and the catholic thing. 

Yeah, lots of people followed ND who lived in areas with no major college team. NYC and Boston used to be filled with ND fans. Take into account the predominance of Catholicism in those areas, and you have a fan base. I grew in a mostly Italian neighborhood far away from South Bend, and everyone had Fightin’ Irish apparel. 

6 hours ago, Gray Beard said:

I’ve never understood it.  They used to be very good, and there are a lot of old people and band wagoners who would root for them. My FIL follows them, and he thinks they are all clean cut good boys compared to other teams. I think in his case, there are racist motivations as well, but I really don’t want to go down that rabbit hole. 

Yeah, I’ve known a few old timers who viewed ND as the “clean cut” guys. I never understood how anyone who went to Catholic school themselves could view them as the “clean cut” ones though (I joke with much truth). 

[Mark Vader]

Notre Dame has a history of winning, and a tradition.

 

Not that difficult to understand why they have so many fans.

[SirAndrew]

1 minute ago, Mark Vader said:

Notre Dame has a history of winning, and a tradition.

 

Not that difficult to understand why they have so many fans.

“History” is the key word at this point. 

[Mark Vader]

6 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

“History” is the key word at this point. 

There were still a lot of Alabama fans during the late 80's & 90's when the Crimson Tide was nothing special.

[SirAndrew]

24 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

There were still a lot of Alabama fans during the late 80's & 90's when the Crimson Tide was nothing special.

Very true, it’s hard to believe Bama had all those rough years.

[Doc Brown]

Best uniform in sports.  Rudy.  Tradition.  Catholicism.  Their own tv network.

[row_33]

3 hours ago, Mark Vader said:

Notre Dame has a history of winning, and a tradition.

 

Not that difficult to understand why they have so many fans.

i remember 1977 and 1988

 

[Mark Vader]

14 minutes ago, row_33 said:

i remember 1977 and 1988

 

Congratulations

[row_33]

2 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

Congratulations

that was the last 2 titles

 

that’s getting to be Cubs territory for a Sahara Desert of a drought in being consequential 

 

Gotta be in your 50s to remember a serious ND title run, not the recent fake runs due to not playing anyone all season and then getting crucified in a big game 

[Sweats]

And yet, they get over rated in the rankings every year.....same as Michigan 

[Guest K-GunJimKelly12]

2 minutes ago, Sweats said:

And yet, they get over rated in the rankings every year.....same as Michigan 

When is the last time they have been overrated?  They pretty much beat every team they should and really only lose to teams they should.  Lost by 6 last night as a huge dog, on the road at #3 Georgia.  They may get blown out when they play the Bama's and Clemson's but so does everybody.  Notre Dame is consistently a top 10 team in college football.  They are not being over ranked.  

[row_33]

2 minutes ago, K-GunJimKelly12 said:

.  Notre Dame is consistently a top 10 team in college football.  

On what planet?

 

 

Twice they’ve had less than 3 losses, with a cupcake schedule for the most part, since 1994 or so

 

3 losses ain’t top 10 status on planet earth

 

[Guest K-GunJimKelly12]

7 minutes ago, row_33 said:

On what planet?

 

 

You must not watch a lot of college football.  Bama, Clemson, Ohio St., Georgia, Auburn, Oklahoma.  Name some teams other than those that have been a consistently better program than Notre Dame during Brian Kelly's tenure.  Even Oklahoma had some lean years at the end of the Stoops era.  

Edited September 22, 2019 by K-GunJimKelly12