Lately, there’s been a ton of columns, stories, blogs and tweets that have all been saying “Notre Dame being great/relevant is important/beneficial for college football at large. And most of these narratives come with the prefix “I’m not an ND fan but/even if you hate ND/you don’t have to like the Irish but.”
The fact that these storylines need that introduction negates their argument immediately. Notre Dame is good; really good and they may even play for the national title, but that does nothing for fans of other teams. It only means a lot for the golden domers and their fans.
College Football is dominated by the SEC; has been for awhile now. Do you think the rabid, insane Southern college football fan gives a damn about ND? Or what about the fans of the Big Ten, a league that may be at it’s nadir right now. While the league is really down, do you think the fans of the league Notre Dame refused to join numerous times are somehow getting an uplift from Brian Kelly revitalizing the program? They have their own issues. And how much do they care in Big 12 and Pac 12 country about a private school in South Bend?
ND’s undefeated season is great for their fans, and Irish Nation, or the Leprechaun Legion. And good for them, the team has earned it. Only a good, but inconsistent USC team stands in the way of a perfect regular season. And even if they drop two of their last three, which of course will not happen, the BCS would still love to take them. So the Irish have a BCS berth locked up.
A lot of the “ND is a tide lifting all boats” crowd will cite the school’s academic requirements and educational rankings as being good for the sport; showing a good example for others. Well, it’s too late, no one believes in the misnomer “student-athlete” and absolutely no one cares about APR rankings and scholar-athlete awards.
People care about their own team and their own conferences. period.
Not an independent returning to its former glory.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; he’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.