 |
|
Basketball |
|
||||||||||
|
I think that's how the grammar goes for the Life cereal commercial. I really don't know.
Either way, Charlie Weis finally gets Notre Dame Football. Sure you gotta recruit and you need to bring in money and all that business jazz. But something Willingham never got and something Davie never really showed: childhood.
It's about throwing the football with your dad on a Saturday morning in October.
It's about walking into the stadium for the first time and being in awe of the 80,000 fans cheering on the band who has just mounted the field.
It's about doing push-ups.
It's about trying to do the Irish jig and falling onto the old lady in front of you because you slipped on your old nacho container and now there's cheese on your shoes but you don't care because the Irish scored.
THAT'S Notre Dame Football.
I'm 26 years old. I've been to over 100 games in both the old and new stadiums, as well as the occasional trip for an away game. Yes, I'm lucky. I know.
But even going to so many games doesn't change that shiver you get when you walk in front of the Dome. It doesn't change how every hair on your body stands up when you get five feet from walking out of the concourse and into the bowl of the stadium.
Somewhere in Charlie Weis's life, he forgot that feeling. Somewhere between the iceberg of Bill Parcells and the frozen pond of Bill Belichick, Charlie lost the way.
Then something happened. I don't know if it has been a process that started when last season failed so miserably.
Maybe it was the little bit of heated comments that started up because of the "To Hell With Michigan" saga.
Perhaps it was Brian Smith, Sergio Brown and singing Pastor Troy in the rain.
All I know is that after the game against Michigan, the South Bend Tribune captured this face:
That's the face of someone who gets it.
That's the face of a man who stood by his team despite a torn ACL and MCL.
That's the face of a Notre Dame alum.
Look at those eyes and tell me that Charlie Weis doesn't finally have the Notre Dame Spirit.
Something tells me the same thing........Charlie Weis finally gets it !!!