’93 Notre Dame – Florida State Intro: A Game In A Perfect Place, A Collision For History

With spring practice kicking off at the end of the week, I figured everyone could use a little dose of nostalgic excitement to get us pumped up for the upcoming season – even if it is 6 months away.  So I present to everyone the single greatest pre-game intro I’ve ever seen for a college football game – the 1993 Notre Dame-Florida State introduce narrated by Bob Costas.

This was back when Notre Dame was winning consistently and NBC was putting money into the weekly broadcasts because the Irish were generating good ratings.   It’s hard to watch this and not get pumped up, but it’s also hard to watch this and not get at least a little depressed that it’s been 16 long years since we’ve spent any time ranked #1 in the country.  It seems like this game was an eternity ago, and makes you wonder when we’ll have another game like this to get excited for.  The table is set in 2009 for the October 17th visit from USC to offer such an opportunity for the Irish this year.  The question, however, is will Notre Dame seize that opportunity by starting the season off on the right foot with a weak early schedule?

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16 Comments

  1. Frankie V,you are making me feel old. I drove to the game and stayed with family. Went back to work on Monday. Dan Devine was coach when I had stories like these kids here. I even remember being in South Bend as a little kid when Ara was coach. I have to say, the 1988 game against Miami was still the best. I was in the student section. We were a lot louder and rowdier than they are now.

  2. Ok, you guys are starting to make me feel old with how young you all were when this game happened 🙂 I still remember skipping basketball practice that Saturday because there was no way I missing this game. My coach didn’t seem to like it when I said I wasn’t coming because I was watching the Notre Dame game, but it was definitely the right move.

  3. @jason_h537,

    If we kick USC’s butt, I can live with 12-1 and we are National Champions. This is a must win year against USC. Take no prisoners and no excuses.

    @C-Dog,

    Kudos, ND’s marketing department needs a fresh approach, just not too fresh.

  4. damn i was like 5 years old when this video came out. its corny but it got me. i am so pumped up for this year. I dont think 13-0 is out of the question this year JC, but USC is still a big hurdle. What the team needs, besides the obvious o line improvement, is confidence. now i dont think we are gonna be 13-0 but 12-1 0r 11-2 is a legitamte goal in my opinion.

  5. Eric, Thanks for pointing it out. Sometimes I don’t have as much time as I’d like to proof read all of these posts/articles since this site is run as a hobby. Feel free to use the contact form anytime you notice stuff like that as I’ll notice it quicker.

  6. Hopefully, this year with all the MILLIONS we are paying the coaching staff; would it be to much to expect 13-0 and a National Title?

    The results so far are not living up to the Wall Street Salaries.

  7. Wow, to think that I was just a bit over a year old at the time.

    This video is exactly what Notre Dame is about though. That kind of spirit is what the team needs to find if they hope to reach elite status again.

    I’ve got two wishes for next year:

    1) Notre Dame returns to prominence

    2) I get an acceptance letter

    Hopefully, both of those can come true.

  8. “Jakw” for starters… Erik is not my name…. it is Eric.

    Also, I commented on this forum, I didn’t write the thing.

    Last time I checked I didn’t spell “Notre Dmae” wrong either.

    On a positive note… GO IRISH

  9. Erik, Word didn’t do too good of a job correcting your unnecessary comma and run-on sentence, did it?

  10. Yes, I agree with all of you. But those legends of the past became legends because they were more concerned with performing and achieving each moment, not worried about how they would look on a podium somewhere. Indeed while Notre Dame was famous back in the “old” days, this only was used to motivate or rather add to the motivation and character building going on. Notre Dame won on character and commitment to a cause. Ara learned and believed, Lou always knew, Leahy and Rockne helped build the foundation.
    Notre Dame will win again when it returns to that foundation. You don’t give up brains for belief and you don’t give up belief for brains. Talent, Xs and Os, smarts are all part of the greater picture, but also the character development. That’s something that should always separate Notre Dame.
    Interesting example here of a storied program and a program that only recently will have to forfeit two seasons of football because of scandle.
    Notre Dame will also win again when it quits selling the myth and lets reality speak for itself. I for one am sick of getting flyers of sales of bricks or chairs from the old stadium. It’s only a matter of time before they start selling Rudy’s spit, or Lou’s farts. Everytime someone at that school picks their nose we’re inumdated with marketing. I know Notre Dame is a great place. The works and deeds of all including the football team can sell themselves. When the team quietly goes about it’s work, and the coaches work with the young men to build character among them, ND will return and the shine on the helmets will be blinding.
    Go IRISH!!!!

  11. One, thing I do not like about some of the forums here is that there are so many grammatical errors.

    Use Firefox or write your posts in Word first, then copy and paste into the browser.

    It is a pretty good video though, this might be the year, but who knows.

  12. Charlie Jones mentions “the ghosts of Notre Dame” right before Lou gives the troops the signal to run onto the field… gives me chills/goosebumps every time i hear it. Hammond and Haden give me chills of disgust.

  13. It is by far the best pre-game intro NBC has ever done for a Notre Dame game. Hopefully in October we bring an undefeated record into the USC game and they put together something similar. It sure would be nice if the on-field result was similar too.

  14. This intro makes me whimper like a schoolgirl…Bob Costas’ greatest contribution to the sporting world.

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