BC: A Painful Memory
UHND.com - Mark Karim Naman
November 10, 2000

On November 14th, 1993, as a junior at the University of Notre Dame, I thought the day before would be the one day that I would remember more than any other from my years at the greatest University on the planet.   That thought lasted less than one week.  November 20th, 1993, is the day I will never forget.   Most of you know exactly what happened on that day, so I’ll spare you the lengthy details of the game.  The pain of that game remained in my heart and mind for many months, until football season came around again.   Suddenly, I pushed the memory into the back spots of my brain, and began to focus on the 1994 campaign.  I was filled with hope.  But by September 10th, it had started vanish.  We had already amassed our first loss and the hope of a National Championship had begun to fade.   We went on that year to go 6-5-1.  And as the season ended, the memory of November 13th, 1993 came back again.  I realized that the Boston College Eagles had taken away my one chance at a National Championship while still a student of the University. 

Since that day, every time the Irish have a meeting with the Boston College Eagles, I cringe.  I feel the pain of 1993 and I want redemption.   Let’s fast forward to 1999.  The Irish are 5-5, and the Boston College Eagles are visiting.  The Eagles took a 31-17 lead on the Irish.  After a late come back, a missed extra point, and a failed 2-point conversion, the scoreboard read 31-29.  AGAIN!!!  Again we couldn’t mount a comeback to beat the Eagles on our home turf.  This time, the implications weren’t as large.  They did not take away our National Championship, but they did make history.  That loss made Notre Dame Bowl ineligible for the first time in 13 years.   Not that we deserved a bowl game last year, but the BC game was our opportunity to right the ship.  We failed, again.  I did not see the 2-point conversion that day, all I saw were flashbacks of the game winning field goal from 1993.

Now on to a happier memory: November 7th, 1998.    The Irish are playing the Eagles in Chestnut Hill.  With the Irish leading 31-26, and a BCS bid within reach, Scott Mutryn threw a 26 yard pass, moving the Eagles to the Irish four yard line with one minute, seven seconds left on the game clock.    It was not looking good for the Irish.   They knew they would have to stop Cloud; a running back that had put up 141 yards on them and was the fourth leading rusher in the nation.  First Down, Cloud rushed for 2 yards.  The distance was cut in half, in one quarter of the chances that the Eagles would have.  Second Down, Cloud gains one yard.  Once again, the distance was cut in half.  Being the true believer that I am, I told my friends that this looked good.  They thought I was crazy.  How can it look good if the Eagles are on the one with 2 plays to go?   My answer: If Cloud cuts the distance to the goal in half every time, he will never score.  Third Down, Cloud looks to be heading for the end zone, when Jimmy Friday stands him straight up at the goal line.  One down to go, the Irish season was on the line.  Fourth Down, the hand off went to Cloud for a fourth straight time and just as he started to make his move towards victory, Deke Cooper laid a hit on him that will be remembered by Irish fans for a long time to come.  It wasn’t the most spectacular hit in terms of form or force, but it was the most spectacular hit in terms of lore.  It instantly became a part of the Notre Dame story book.  It even inspired a writer from the Boston Herald to describe ND’s tradition in a wonderful way.  The article cannot be included due to copyright laws.  However, in summary, the writer discussed how a goal line stand is the loneliest place, unless you are Notre Dame.  He discussed members of Irish Lore, like Rockne and the Four Horsemen.   And in the end, he concluded that Notre Dame players never stand alone.

 The Irish had won.   They had won in dramatic fashion.  They held off the big upset from Boston College.  They did it on BC’s home field.  It was great day.  So many positives came from that game and that day.  I was ecstatic. Notre Dame was 8-1 and looking good.  But no more than 30 minutes after that game, I felt the pain of 1993 again.    What’s this?  We won, I should not feel this pain.  I can understand if every time we lose to the Eagles, the pain comes back, but when we win too?   Then I realized what was happening.  No matter how many times we beat the Eagles, no matter how badly we beat the Eagles, nothing will ever allow me to witness a National Championship while attending the University of Notre Dame.   However, repeated wins against BC may help me to at least move the memory of that game to the back of my brain again.

Now don’t get me wrong, the pain I felt after the victory was less severe than the pain felt after the losses.  However, no matter what I do, I cannot completely erase that painful memory from 1993.  I have resolved to erase the pain from my mind as much as possible.  It is time to fill my brain with new, more powerful memories of the BC game.  It is time to dominate.  I will be watching this weekend, hoping that no part of the game reminds me of 1993.  An Irish victory will leave us one win away from a major bowl game and will send a message to the college football world that ND IS BACK!!!  It will also go a long way to helping me erase this painful memory.  However, a loss Saturday will aggravate my pain.   This is a must win for the Irish, the team knows it, the fans know it, and the Eagles know it.  Time to strap on the Gold helmets and DESTROY THE EAGLES!!!

GO IRISH!!!! CRUSH EAGLES!!!!

If you would like to know more about the Boston Herald article, please email me at ndrugby@hotmail.com