It finally happened. NBC parodied Rudy on Saturday Night Live last night with guest host Houston Texans star DE JJ Watt. In the skit embedded here, Watt plays the role of a player who doesn’t want to give up his jersey for “Robby” in this case. And to be honest, it’s pretty damn funny.
Now what is surprising to me is someone at Notre Dame had to sign off on this because the interlocking ND is evident throughout the entire skit, and there is no question that Notre Dame is who is being portrayed here. There’s no way NBC could have done this without Notre Dame’s consent here.
What’s surprising in this is that there is a bit of colorful language – albeit bleeped out for the broadcast. To be honest, it was a pretty shrewd move from Notre Dame from a recruiting perspective because it gets Notre Dame’s name out there associated with one of the biggest stars in the NFL. Oh, and that star, JJ Watt, is also one of the most beloved sports icons in the state of Texas right now. And wouldn’t you know, there happens to be a ton of talent in the state of Texas and those prospects haven’t exactly been running to Notre Dame in recent years.
I’m sure there will be some of the old school variety who hate this skit just like there’s some who hate field turf, hate the jumbotron, and hate alternate uniforms. But, this gives Notre Dame a nice little bit of exposure during the Super Bowl at a time that Notre Dame wouldn’t otherwise have been on the radar.
Uodate: I’ve been alerted that no one at Notre Dame needed to approve this since SNL is covered under parody laws (I’m no lawyer). That said, given Notre Dame’s relationship with NBC, I would be more than a little surprised if Notre Dame wasn’t given some sort of heads up about this. If they weren’t, well, then I’d be equally surprised if there weren’t a few folks at the University who had a few words with NBC since Saturday.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
The skit obviously worked wonders in recruiting. Precipitously dropping ten spots doesn’t just happen on its own.
Fun fact: When Al Franken first ran for the Senate, he had to similarly educate his humorless, muck-throwing Republican opponent on how skits he wrote for SNL decades earlier were parody, and thus protected by free speech laws.
Remember the GOP? The ‘party of law and order’? Bwa ha ha ha ha
No need for consent from Notre Dame, this a parody. And it is perfectly legal to use, as long as it’s a parody.
I took it to for what it was intended to be, funny
Thought it was funny, too. Think you meant it was a “shrewd” move.
They don’t need consent because it’s a parody