Win One for the Gipper
One of the most famous moments in Notre Dame Fighting Irish football history- and in all of American sports- is probably the legendary “win one for the Gipper” speech given by Irish coach Knute Rockne at halftime during a 1928 Notre Dame-Navy game. Navy had been the clear favorites to win, having entered the game undefeated. Notre Dame was struggling at 4-2. At halftime Navy was up and appeared to be in control. Many people on the team had known or heard of George “The Gipper” Gipp, who was a well-liked and effective football player who had died in 1920 of strep throat.
The time was right to invoke his image. “I’ve got to go, Rock. It’s all right. I’m not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are going wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Gipper. I don’t know where I’ll be then, Rock. But I’ll know about it, and I’ll be happy.”
Though you probably won’t be able to repeat a moment like that, ever, there are still plenty of opportunities left to visit StubHub.com to get Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets for future classic games.
2007 a “Step Back” for Nore Dame?
Recently ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel and Mark Schalabach, two of their college football writers, wrote a short column on the three things they “can’t wait to see” out of the Independents next football season. Of course, the top of the list for both of the writers concerned the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish and how they would react to the loss of Brady Quinn.
Both reporters took the obvious road. Maisel wondered if Weis would be right when the coach had previously said that 2007 might be a step back for Notre Dame. It’s the opinion of Maisel that it will be, saying that the Irish have “only 10 returning starters, no experience at quarterback and four of the Irish’s first six games on the road.”
Schalabach wondered if Jimmy Clausen, the favorite to replace Quinn, might not have benefited from having any experience at the receiver position. He accurately brought up the fact that Clausen has impressed the Fighting Irish coaching staff immensely. The fact is, there are a lot of question marks this year in South Bend, and the only way to find out about all of them live and in person is to get Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets at StubHub.com.
Notre Dame’s Weis Gives Back
University of Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis recently attended a celebrity dinner to help fund raise for a local chapter of Volunteers for America. Although Weis gets an offer to attend charity functions about every other day, the Fighting Irish coach has very little time to lend to such organizations. He is forced to pick only a select few engagements throughout the year, and this past weekend he donated his tome to VoA.
Giving to charities has been a part of Charlie Weis’ life for a long time. Charlie Weis and his wife Maura have co-founded the organization known as “Hannah and Friends,” a group dedicated to helping families with developmentally disabled children. The Weis’ daughter, Hannah, suffers from developmental disorders.
Said Weis, “We have enough money to take care of Hannah. But we’ve seen so many people with special needs that just have crummy lives, that my wife talked me into starting a charity called ‘Hannah & Friends.”
Though buying Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets at StubHub.com doesn’t necessarily help disadvantaged youths, it will help improve the notoriety and value of signed Notre Dame memorabilia, which is often times auctioned off at charity dinners. So in a way, it helps.
Will Fighting Irish Win Mascot Tourney?
In case you are unaware, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are officially out of the Mascot Tournament at CBS Sportsline.com. The Fighting Irish lost to the Wyoming Cowboys in the Humans Division’s second round after defeating the George Washington Colonials in the first. Had the Irish been able to overcome the Cowboys, they would have faced my personal favorite mascot of all time, the Demon Deacon of Wake Forest.
For me, this kind of mascot challenge comes every year when I make my NCAA Tournament brackets. Usually the winners are so random that you might as well pick by team color or cuteness of mascot. Many have wondered, which school really has the best mascot, and this site is the first hat I have known of that seeks to decide this once and for all. Everything is debatable: the seeds, the winners, the reasons. Personally, I agree with the way the Fighting Irish went out. They would probably beat a Colonial because the adjective “Fighting” makes you think that the Irish would be way more aggressive than a guy concerned with spreading the British Empire through expansion and resource exploitation.
Cowboys have guns, so no matter how mad the Irish guy looks, he probably won’t win in a fight with Wyatt Earp… no matter how drunk the Irishman is assumed to be. For most of the people who buy Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets at StubHub.com this is just a waste of time, a fantasy for other college sports fans who want to see their team win once in a while.
Notre Dame Pep Rally Blog
In case you missed it, Bud Poliquin posted a great blog the other day about a University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football pep rally held at the Joyce Center last football season. Like for all home games, just aout 15,000 gathered in the gym to get pumped up for the UCLA game. The crowd was abuzz with excitement and energy, and then former Irish QB “Golden Boy” Paul Hornung took the microphone and everything took a turn for the awkward.
According to sources at the event, Digger Phelps and Dick Vitale had already given some pretty standard pump-up speeches when Hormung got the stage. After a few minutes of bland rabble-rousing, something inexplicable happened… something embarrassing and confusing which turned the crowd from frenzied to puzzled.
If you get a chance you ought to check it out. Then, when you are finished laughing you can get to StubHub.com to secure your Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets for a game next season. We know what you’re going to ask, but no, the rallies are for students and we don’t sell tickets to them.
Brady, Beck Drawing Comparisons
Because of their NFL draft day positioning, Brady Quinn, the former Notre Dame quarterback, and John Beck, the former Brigham Young quarterback, will probably draw a lot of comparisons throughout their careers in the NFL. Quinn was drafted No. 22 by the Cleveland Browns, and Beck was drafted No. 40 by the Miami Dolphins. Both QBs were taken much later in the draft than they had anticipated, unlike LSU QB JaMarcus Russell, who was drafted first overall by the Oakland Raiders.
So lets see how Quinn and Beck compare, using their college stats. It appears that as far as their body types go, Quinn has the advantage. He is 6′4′’, 227, two inches taller and about 15 pounds heavier than Beck, although they are both more than big enough to compete in the NFL. Quinn and Beck are almost identical when you compare their stats for their senior seasons. They both tossed over 30 touchdowns and threw for about 3,500 yards.
The one thing that Beck has over Quinn might be that the Dolphins chose to pass on the Notre Dame passer. Miami had the ninth pick overall, but skipped over Quinn, taking Beck in the second round instead. Though you can’t get Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets to see Brady Quinn anymore, you can still get some NFL tickets at StubHub.com to find out which of these players turns out to be the better draft pick.
Quinn Starts Practice with Browns
Ex-Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn began a training camp with the Cleveland Browns recently. The camp was open to all draft picks and free agents and was designed to give the Browns coaching staff a look at the starting points for their new players.
Though the Browns had dozens of great players on the field, all eyes were squarely on Brady Quinn, who worked out for roughly an hour and a half. He showed a few signs of rust, but for the most part the former Fighting Irish QB was glad to be in a football helmet and not in a suit and tie sweating out a draft day free fall.
Cleveland is never too far for those South Bend Golden Domers who want to see Brady Quinn get paid to do what he did at Notre Dame. While you’re at StubHub.com getting Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, you might want to see if the Browns have any good seats available.
Notre Dame Basketball Coach in USO
Fighting Irish basketball head coach Mike Brey recently announced that he will take part in a USO (United Service Organization) event called Operation Hardwood. Several other college basketball personalities, coaches, and players are taking part in the operation, with the intended purpose of bringing some of the fun and merriment of college basketball to troops stationed overseas. This particular assignment will take them to Kuwait.
According to the latest info on the matter, Dennis Felton of Georgia, Ed Conroy from The Citadel, Jim Crews (Army), Fran Fraschilla (ESPN analyst), Mike Lonergan (Vermont), Reggie Minton (National Association of Basketball Coaches) and Skip Prosser (Wake Forest), will all be a part of the mission.
You probably won’t be able to get tickets to these events at StubHub.com under the NCAA basketball tickets page, but you can see many of the same names if you get hoops tickets for games next season.
Irish Battle for Receiver Spots
With the departure of QB Brady Quinn, the University of Notre Dame faces a much-discussed battle for who will take over the Fighting Irish’s offense. Though the quarterback spot has been getting all the attention lately, the wide receiver crew is just as up in the air right now.
The Irish lost two of their main pass catchers, Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McNight. Both of these wideouts caught 15 touchdowns in roughly 70 catches. Both contributed more than 1,000 yards. So the Irish actually have three big questions on offense: Who will throw? Who will catch? Who will run?
The annual spring Blue-Gold game turned out to be a preview for the upcomming battle at running back. Very little could be determined about the air game. As of right now David Grimes appears to be the front runner for the go-to wideout position. After that, it might be a rookie or one of several returners, among them George West and Robby Paris.
Nobody, quarterback or receiver, has proven much on the field in an actuall game yet. Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets to the first few games next season might give you a look at players that wont show up in games at the end of the season. But whoever ends up getting the starting position, you know that StubHub.com will be the favorite ticket seller all season long.
Notre Dame-Penn State Game Set
Penn State announced the game times for their upcoming season of NCAA football. The Nittany Lions were in eager anticipation of when, exactly, their game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be held. The game is now set for 6:00 PM EST on September 8th.
This means that when the Irish head out to play Penn State at Beaver Stadium it will be under the lights and on prime-time television. ESPN will cover the game nationally.
The Fighting Irish have a slight 9-8-1 series edge in this battle between two of college football’s most storied programs. Notre Dame has not played at Penn State since 1991, although the Irish did beat the Nittany Lions last year at Notre Dame Stadium. Though the Irish have rivalries with a few other Big Ten schools that are much more important, this game should still be a good one.
After the Golden Domers play Penn State, they will face Michigan on the road. After that, you can get Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets at StubHub.com for their home game against Michigan State on September 22nd.