A Team Effort
UHND.com - Robert Doyle
November 28, 2000

I don't have any family members who play on the Notre Dame football team. Nor do I know any member of the coaching staff apart from television or the occasional news article or interview. I didn't even attend Notre Dame as a student. These facts notwithstanding, I have never felt a greater sense of pride for the group of young men who form the Notre Dame football team.

Over the past few years, there have been a few moments where I have felt true pride as a fan. Ivory Covington making a huge defensive stop against Army and Deke Cooper doing the same against Boston College rank among my favorites. Luke Petitigout being drafted in the first round also made me happy to support the Golden Dome. But Saturday's game against USC was the first time in a while that I felt the sense of pride for the team as a whole.

It was the first time in a number of years that you really felt that things were going to work out. That even though USC was playing really hard and keeping the game close, you just knew that the Fighting Irish would prevail. You saw a young quarterback step up and make several big plays. My favorite was a fourteen-yard completion to tight end Dan O'Leary, a seemingly forgotten man in the Notre Dame offense. In fact, it marked only the sixteenth catch for an Irish end this year.

That statistic in itself shows that the Irish talent is back at a remarkably high level. I dare ask how many college programs in the United States will -presumably- have two tight ends drafted into the NFL, yet catch only sixteen balls between them. I won't even begin to look at the depth of talent at running back and quarterback.

The talent was shown in many of the big plays made by the Irish on Saturday. The interception by Tony Driver was followed by my comment 'he has an excellent shot at being drafted this year.' I found myself making similar comments after other big plays by Anthony Denman, Brock Williams, Mike Gandy and the aforementioned Dan O'Leary. Nothing says pride for a college football program than having a good crop of draftees into the brethren of the NFL.

I can't help but await the bowl game, whichever one that Notre Dame is invited to. Though I believe that Notre Dame is worthy of a Fiesta Bowl invite, I don't think anyone should make their travel plans until the Big XII championship. I implore every Notre Dame fan to send their positive energy toward Josh Heupel and the rest of the Oklahoma football team. While an excellent case can be made to send one one-loss team to a second tier bowl, two one-loss teams would be a tougher sell, even for a bowl that is seemingly tipping its cap towards Notre Dame.

For now, I will follow the lead of previous writers and extend a hearty 'thank-you' to the team and staff of the Notre Dame football team. You have brought the program out from the shadows and into the light. It is an utterly fantastic feeling to go into every game and believe that your football team can go into any game in any stadium across the country and have an excellent shot at winning. I can only imagine what is must be like to have that feeling while setting foot on the field and carrying that pride that comes with wearing the blue and gold.

Questions? Comments? Scholarship offer? Rdoyle@trinity.utoronto.ca