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Only Tunnel Will Tell
UHND.com - Derek Drushel
1/19/2002
Hello all you lucky (jury's out on this one now) friends in white (with those thick gold stripes on either side) again. As always, I love being at the keyboard sharing my rage, joy, and love for all things Irish. In case you haven't checked the message board lately, we have a new coach. And if you ain't blind, you know I'm not particularly pleased. You would also know I'm not the only one. I will never truly believe that in BOTH head coaching searches, the best man for the job was hired. Call it denial, stupidity, whatever. I simply cannot see a lack of choices being the problem. Alas we have Tyrone Willingham however. Does this hire have the makings of a quality hire? Maybe. Is it liable to blow up in our faces like the last one? Probably not. I worry about the hire before that however. The one that lasted 5 seasons, not five days. Too much similarity. Way too much. Their sideline demeanors. Their lack of ability to handle the media and navigate a press conference with some semblance of elegance. Granted, there's upside. There's head coaching experience. That's definitely a start. I could go on about specific positives and negatives, but I don't think any of it needs reiteration here. I said in my last article that I would talk about the intangibles at Notre Dame. Here's to keeping a promise.
There is one question I have asked myself as a Notre Dame fan more than any other. What is/are the prevailing reason(s) that Notre Dame has been so successful for so long? Was it because of superior recruiting a la Vinny Cerrato in the late 80's to early 90's? Was it a few fortunate hires at the head coaching position? Was it luck time and time again a la Michigan in their '97 National Championship year? I don't think so. Success doesn't come in a one-time packaged offer. Success comes in the form of a monthly fee to the soul. Winners make their own luck. As Lou Holtz once said, if you expect to be good, you'll be mediocre, if you expect excellence, you'll be good, and if you expect perfection, you'll acheive excellence. He's right. He won a hundred games for a reason. Lou Holtz had that special something, the ego to expect TWO HUNDRED wins instead of just a "solid career." There are certain people in this world who's drive to succeed, and refusal to accept defeat are unmatched. Has anyone been watching SportsCenter recently? In case you haven't, that washed up player that's hurting the image of a great career, had 45 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in one game (including 22 straight, 2 short of his own record), and then followed it up with 51 the next game. His Wizards are playing better than the franchise has ever dreamed of. Michael Jordan has that special drive. Nobody will deny him success. No amount of bad press, or bad shooting nights in a row, will keep him from his goal. Yet his goal is in essence, unreachable. Perfection! The drive to grow closer and closer to perfection, is something only a select few ever reach for. Notre Dame's history, not just football history, has been all about acheiving perfection, continually reaching for a sky with no limit. The Main Building burns down with most of campus? Build another one, and this time make it bigger, and Golden, with our Mother watching over it. Only winners think this way. Notre Dame Football is no exception.
I will always remember what the immortal Frank Leahy said to his wife upon accepting the Head Coaching job. "I must accept the challenge. I know it is going to be difficult, but I cannot fail." Not exactly something from a Bob Davie press conference is it? Talk about the "dynamics of a situation." It definitely "is what it is." Frank Leahy won because it killed him to see the alternative occur. The thought of losing repulsed him. It is the same with other top coaches. Steve Spurrier is the most glaring example. Call him a crybaby, a whiner, whatever. Just know that what you see is pure AGONY at the sight of his team's, and his own, failure to acheive victory. The competetive spirit of Steve Spurrier is unmatched in college football today. He's won at least nine games every single year (12 seasons, that breaks Bear Bryant's old record) at Florida not because he expects nothing less, but because he expects MORE THAN THAT! He loved his team, his players, the University, and cares as much for their success as closely as he can to that of his own. I think Dick Vermeil summed things up rather well in a speech to his players when he first entered training camp with the St. Louis Rams. He said that if "Rams and Super Bowl" sounds funny to you, then you shouldn't be here, and feel free to leave. Anyone still laughing at the Rams? I don't think so. Especially not Vermeil, the poor guy took the Kansas City job. Ouch.
Well, obviously this all comes down to the immediate problem. Is Tyrone Willingham a winner? There's only one way to find out. It's not when the final score of the Maryland game is determined. It's before that. There's a magic at Notre Dame. If you don't believe that, you should've been a Michigan fan. The ghosts of glory's past have ways of telling us what's good and bad. You will know if Tyrone Willingham has what it takes no later than when the team first gathers inside the end of the tunnel. The crowd grows louder. Touchdown Jesus seems to be stretching to get a clear view of the action inside. The anticipation has peaked, it's judgement day now. Rockne, Gipp, Leahy, Layden, Bertelli, gather up with the team in the tunnel. The opposing team has already entered, and now wait. They take the field, and suddenly it all becomes clear. The Four Horsemen seem to push the team out faster, their faces look meaner. The opposing team stops to watch, and they remember where they are. The fans remember too. The noise is deafening. Suddenly every single body at Notre Dame Stadium truly remembers where they are, and the world of college football get's that feeling in their stomach that seemed like it may go away forever. Fear. Notre Dame is back, and they are very, VERY, afraid.
If Tyrone Willingham can reintroduce the fear, Notre Dame will return to greatness. Will he do it? Only the tunnel will tell. Two things that Mr. Willingham seems have working in his favor is what seems to be an excellent staff, and renewed interest in the Irish from many of the nation's top recruits now that the coaching derby has passed. Besides all of the intangibles, recruiting and a great coaching staff can definitely put the Irish back on the map. The question that will truly linger is when will number thirteen come along? Only time will tell, and time (unlike money), is not something Notre Dame has a large stockpile of these days. So on that note, I give Tyrone Willingham a small piece of advice. Probably the only piece, if any, that I'm qualified to give. Hurry up.
What's next and Today's Item: Next? Well, if you're lucky I guess, I might talk offense. Though I have a feeling that all of us we'll be more interested in recruiting at that point. As usual, my e-mail address is readily available for anyone who would like to return fire. As for what's new, I'll be using a new e-mail address within the next couple of weeks just in case any of you folks out there want to know where your favorite guy to hate has run off to. That's about all for today. Oh yeah, we need Lorenzo Booker like Florida Gator fans need Kleenex.
ddrushel005@attbi.com if you loved the article. If you hated it, go ahead and e-mail me there too. Domer Derek is the name on the board. You can always yell at me there. Until next time, take care all. God bless.