ND Makes Top 10 Great Moments List

ESPN has come up with yet another list, this one about the top 100 moments in college football history. The list seeks to find the best “moments,” which should not be confused with the best games, plays, people, teams or champions. Because the list is about great “moments,” the list does not necessarily reflect the importance of the game or even the popularity of any particular incident on the list.

It might not surprise you to find out that one of the top 10 moments in the list of 100 involved the University of Notre Dame. The team might not surprise you, but the moment probably will. Would you guess that the moment that was chosen was not the legendary “Win one for the Gipper” speech, but a 35-yard completion- one that accomplished no more than a late game first down? Well, in fact, the #7 greatest moment of all time cam during the 1973 Notre Dame-Alabama game, when Irish QB Tom Clements threw a 35-yard out pass to tight end Robin Weber with less than two minutes on the clock, with the Irish down and on their own 2 yard line.

It would have been great to get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets to see this moment, but StubHub.com was not around back then.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 29, 2007 - Post a comment

Joe Montana Interview

Krik Bohls of “The Statesman” met with former San Francisco 49er and University of Notre Dame football legend Joe Montana the other day. The meeting did not produce much in the way of great commentary, except for a piece of second hand information about the current quarterback situation in South Bend. According to Bohls, who heard from Joe, who heard from Notre Dame Football coach Charlie Weis, the Fighting Irish might not be starting Jimmy Clausen next season. Instead, Weis specifically mentioned Demetrius Jones as a distinct possibility. Jones wears number 3 for the Irish, as Montana did when he was playing there.

Other than the comments about Clausen and Jones, Joe Montana had only a few words to say about former Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn. Like most everybody, he gave tentative high expectations for the Cleveland Browns rookie.

If the information from Joe Montana is accurate, you might just be getting Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football tickets (hopefully at StubHub.com) to a game where Demetrius Jones is starting.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 28, 2007 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Football Fantasy Camp

Time to take a break from my big Knute Rockne hug to talk about something special that is going on at Notre Dame right now. If you haven’t heard about it yet, a Notre Dame Football Fantasy Camp is being held in South Bend at the end of June and the beginning of July. People who participate in The Notre Dame Monogram Club’s Fifth Annual Football Fantasy Camp, will get to act like a real Notre Dame football player for a couple of days.

The end result is that they get to play in a scrimmage against other campers. Before the game though, the participants, mostly men in their 30s and 40s, will have two-a-day practices, eat in the dining halls, dress in the locker rooms, see the Football Hall of Fame, get advise from ND coaches and trainers and much more. The highlight for most of the campers will be getting to slap the “Play like a Champion” sign on the way out of the Notre Dame locker room as they charge into the tunnel.

Sounds like fun if you’ve watched a little too much Rudy. Still, this experience is probably the next best thing to actually being in the game or getting Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 27, 2007 - Post a comment

More Laser-Like Concentration on All Things Knute Rockne

It’s the middle of the summertime, and all of the news in the sports world has to do with the NBA trade rumors and Major League Baseball scores. As a brief wrap-up, I’d just like to remind people that as far as the current state of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish season goes, the QB spot is still in question, highlighted by the fact that Jimmy Clausen just underwent some kind of medical procedure on his elbow.

Lately, I have been studying up on Knute Rockne, the legendary Notre Dame Football coach, in an effort to learn from his wisdom. Maybe Charlie Weis reads this blog and will get inspiration from ol’ Rock’s philosophical waxing. It is a good thing Rockne gave us, or more precisely his players, a list of “25 Commandments” to follow.

What is the number one commandment? Well, you might be surprised to learn that “Scholarship” occupies the number one position on the list. According to Rockne, “The player should first be a good student. Do not neglect your studies. Your first purpose should be to get an education.” And I for one think that is something that more coaches should hold as the number one requirement these days. You will be glad to know that Notre Dame often has higher academic expectations for their athletes than other institutions. You can see these great student-athletes by getting Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 26, 2007 - Post a comment

Coach Rockne Muses about Winning, Losing

As you have seen, the legendary Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coach Knute Rockne had some pretty deep thoughts about winning and losing, and how each of those situations ought to be handled. It is of some note, though, that Knute Rockne would have had far more experience at winning, rather than losing. He currently has the greatest winning percentage of any college coach, with an average that is well over .800 for his career. While he was in college, he played for a championship Notre Dame football team, and he set a record for Notre Dame in the indoor pole vault. Needless to say, Rockne seemed like a winner most of his life. What would he really know about losing?

Then there is this Rockne quote that might appear to be a contradiction about his feelings on the subject as stated in his “25 Commandments.” Said Rockne, “Show me a good and gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure.” Of course, he also said that one can be “a good but gracious loser.” He continued, “Any coach or team that cannot lose and treat their opponents with respect has no right to win.”

Perhaps Rockne is advocating some sort of middle ground in between respect, bitterness and graciousness. It is too bad we can’t ask ol’ Rockne about his thoughts. Instead, you can get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets at StubHub.com and ponder winning and losing by yourself afterwards.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 25, 2007 - Post a comment

Taking a Page from Knute Rockne’s Book

Yesterday I told you about Knute Rockne’s list of 25 Commandments, literally 150% more than the amount of Commandments God gave Mosses to give to his chosen people. Rockne would have had to carry a total of four and a half tablets down from Mt. Sinai-Bend to give his people some structure, for crying out loud. One of the most interesting things about the Commandments is the way Rockne addresses winning and losing. Both of these commandments are much longer than the others, though they are No. 22 and 23 on the list. The “Losing” explanation goes like this:

“Losing: You can be a hard but good loser. Any coach or team that cannot lose and treat their opponents with respect has no right to win; a poor sportsman generally tries to amuse the spectators with his self-styled clever wit by making abusive remarks, which act as a boomerang by intelligent spectators.”

Don’t you just love the way this is written. Such eloquence. Monday, you will get to hear the other side of the story, the part about winning. Until then, you can occupy your time by searching for good Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 22, 2007 - Post a comment

Critical Analysis of Rockne’s Commandments

There is a lot to discuss when you read the list of “Commandments” that Knute Rockne commanded his players to obey while they played football for the University of Notre Dame. A lot of them are fairly simple and straightforward. They usually consist of one word or a short phrase, and then a sentence of explanation. But what does this list of “Commandments” tell us about the man himself. What were Rockne’s sticking points? What made him tick? What did he really care about? The answers might just be found by reading into the content of his laws.

If you just glance at the list, the first thing you might notice is that rules number 22 and 23 have the longest explanation by far. Their placement and length are interesting to mote. You might be able to surmise that Rockne put the quality of being a god loser over that of being a good winner, simply because he made “Losing” number 22 and “Winning” number 23. One thing is for sure, he had a lot of thoughts about both winning and losing, and the proper way to handle those situations. For a guy who only lost 13 games in 12 seasons with Notre Dame, he was sure passionate about both sides. If you read his thoughts, they don’t really convey traditional wisdom on winning and losing.

Tomorrow we will dig deeper into the mind of Rockne. Until then you can get Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 21, 2007 - Post a comment

Rockne Website a Real Hoot for ND Fans

I’m not sure if you’ve bookmarked the home page of Knute Rockne like I have, but maybe after this blog you will. The legend of Knute Rockne is such that he deserved a postmortem website in his honor. The page has some pretty cool stuff, including a quotes section, and a list of commandments that Rockne himself wrote down for his players to live by. God had ten such commandments. Rockne: 25. You be the judge.

Also, did you know that Rockne, Texas was named after the legendary coach? Well, now we know of two Notre Dame greats with towns named after them: Joe, Montana, and Rockne, Texas. After Rockne’s death in 1931, the school children of the former town of Walnut Creek, Lehman, and Lehmanville, decided to name the place Rockne after the famous coach. In 1988, the town opened its fist post office for just two days. The occasion was to mark the arrival of the new Knute Rockne stamp.

Rockne is only present on the Notre Dame football field in memory, but you can get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets to see the gridiron he used to command by visiting SutbHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 20, 2007 - Post a comment

Knute Rockne, All American

Knute Rockne, All American, is a film made in 1940 about the legendary Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coach. Rockne is largely considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest college football coach of all time. The film stars Pat O’Brien, Ronald Reagan, Gale Page, Donald Crisp, Albert Bassermann, Owen Davis Jr., Nick Lukats, Kane Richmond, William Marshall and William Byrne.

The “Win one for the Gipper” speech in the film goes like this:
“The last thing George said to me, ‘Rock,’ he said, ’sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Gipper.’

Ronald Regan gives the films most famous performance, portraying the character George Gipp, otherwise knows as “The Gipper.” After the film, Ronald Regan was nicknamed “The Gipper” as well, often humorously citing the role in speeches. In fact, two different Republican National Conventions used the phrase, including the 2004 Convention, when George W. Bush commented shortly after Regan’s death that Bush and Cheney could “now truly win one for the Gipper.”

Get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets at your source for great college football tickets, StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 19, 2007 - Post a comment

Knute Rockne: Perfection to a T

Knute Rockne, the legendary Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coach, was famous for, among many other things, inventing the “shift” as part of an offensive strategy. The “T” formation was very popular back in Knute Rockne’s days, but Rockne put his own little spin on the concept by having one of the players lined up in the backfield shift to another position right before the snap, creating an overloaded side for which a more successful run attempt could be attempted.

With the famous “Four Horsemen of Notre Dame” Knute Rockne perfected this shifty T formation to win many games. However, after Rockne’s reign as coach was over, Frank Leahy shifted the strategy to a standard box T.

It’s too bad that so many creative plays are already in standard use. There’s just nothing original or surprising out there anymore. At any rate, you can get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets to see Coach Weis try out something new by visiting StubHub.com, your source for all the best college football tickets.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 18, 2007 - Post a comment


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