When I say that Notre Dame football is the current villain of American sports, I truly mean that as a compliment. You have to be over-exposed in order to have a backlash. You have to be extremely relevant in order to be despised.
And with the traditional professional sports team powers all residing at a level currently below their peak, Notre Dame football has stepped up to fill that polarization void. Parity in the pro leagues has a lot to do with it, as does the fact that college football is now our unquestioned #2 American past time.
The NFL slaughters everything. Period. And there’s a big gap between the National Football League and every other sport. However, college football is #2 with a bullet, and if you don’t get that by now, you’re a dinosaur.
If you don’t care about college football that’s fine- a whole lot of people in this country do not. It’s actually more of a “Red State” thing anyway. It’s big in rural areas and not as popular in big cities. So if you don’t like it that’s cool, but if you “don’t get it,” then you’re not paying attention. The numbers show it’s blowing away NASCAR, MLB and the NBA on television.
As for hockey, it’s still a niche thing. However, I sympathize with the hockey nuts because I understand them. College football is like my hockey. I know some people just won’t embrace it, and then question the people who do.
That said Notre Dame football is the most visible and storied in the sport. And even though they suffered a bad set back at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines last Saturday night, the fact that so many people embraced their demise on social media speaks volumes about how much ND is truly reviled.
The New England Patriots have gone almost a decade without a Super Bowl; a long time in their world. The Dallas Cowboys are led by Tony Romo, a man who turns the ball over as much as he gives pointless and worthless interviews. NFL parity has been great for the league, but bad for defining a true black hat.
The L.A. Lakers are down. The New York Yankees are in a dry spell (again only so much in their lofty standards) So who’s left? The Miami Heat.
Lebron and company may occupy this perch with Notre Dame football. And deservedly so. They’re winning and they’re not very likable. However, college football trumps NBA. What about the Duke Blue Devils? They just won a title in 2010, and they’re not going away. Like Notre Dame, they’re a rich kid private school, which helps in America developing a distaste. However, most people only care about college basketball for one month out of the season.
Not me, I love college hoops, and I love it year round. But college football is a year round obsession in a lot of these United States. N0tre Dame football is polarizing that any time you report on people hating them say the ESPN College Gameday signs on Sat ripping them, BOOM goes the page views. These signs were directed at Everett Golson; who isn’t even enrolled in the University.
If I report something that makes Notre Dame football look good, I hear crickets chirp. If I report something that is just neutral, neither good nor bad for the program, no one cares. If I report the scandalous news of Notre Dame football, and under Brian Kelly there have been plenty of those: Tommy Rees, Carlo Calabrese, DaVaris Daniels, Manti Te’o, Golson etc. page views soar. That’s not preferred on my part, I’m not passing a value judgment on it. I’m just saying it’s the way it is.
Period.
I’m sure other media outlets will concur with that. And it speaks volumes about Notre Dame football being the team America loves to hate right now.
And Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M. He’s the person America loves to hate (but we’ll get to him tomorrow, and all this week)
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan, he also writes on Chicago sports media for Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)