As I expected would happen, the folks at ND Nation are having a blast at my (and Becky’s) expense this lovely USC Week. Which is fine, as far as it goes, but it’s too bad they’re all apparently five years old. (Fat jokes are hilarious! And the best solution to any problem is physical violence!) Ah, ND Nation… the bottom of the Notre Dame fan-site barrel, totally unrepresentative of how decent and classy most Irish fans are. But hey, they sure drive traffic! So, welcome to my blog, a**holes! :)
On a more significant note, some people may be genuinely confused about the whole “dual loyalties” thing. Happens every year around this week in the football calendar. The reality is that, contra mkovac, I don’t just root for the Irish “to be the fatted cow to be slaughtered by SC to make the Trojans look good.” I root for the Irish — in every game but one — because they’re my second-favorite team. This makes perfect sense, given that USC is my undergrad alma mater and Notre Dame is my law school. I’m hardly the only grad/law student who has ever had to grapple with dual loyalties. Most handle it precisely as I do: rooting for their undergrad alma mater first, their grad school second. In my mind, that’s the “proper” order of loyalties.
What makes it a little trickier for me is that USC-ND is not just a game, but a rivalry game. I have a few classmates who attended rival schools who couldn’t bring themselves to root for Notre Dame, even in the games that don’t involve their alma maters. One Michigan grad, for example, told me that he thought maybe he’d become an Irish fan (except for the Michigan game, of course) once he got here, but then the first time he heard the ND band playing the Victory March during practice, it made him “physically ill” and he realized he could never root for the Irish. I understand that; I’d probably feel the same way if I’d gone to law school at UCLA. But I never hated Notre Dame — in fact, when I was in undergrad, I cared much more about the USC-UCLA rivalry than the USC-ND rivalry. So it wasn’t that much of a leap for me to become an Irish fan (except when they play the Trojans, of course).
It gets trickier still, though, because USC-ND isn’t just any old rivalry. Because both teams are historically good, and because it’s a non-conference, intersectional showdown, it’s often the Game. Of. The. Year. for both teams. And because this is college football, any loss is life-threatening to one’s BCS title hopes, and a November loss is almost assuredly fatal. So that makes it tough, especially in even years, rooting for one team all season while knowing that I’ll end up rooting against them in the biggest game of all. But what can I say? Being loyal to both of those schools is the hand I’ve been dealt. And while it might have been easier, in terms of my sports rooting interests, if I’d gone to Boston U. or George Washington or Cardozo for law school, it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun!
That “fun” point is one that I think most people don’t understand. There is, initially, a certain agonizing quality about having dual loyalties. (I wrote a bit about that aspect back in August.) But once you get past that, it actually becomes really enjoyable. I’ve definitely grown very comfortable in my “Irish Trojan” skin, as the name of this blog and my general enthusiasm for USC Week suggests. Why? Well, it gives me an opportunity to confuse the heck out of strangers, which is always entertaining, and tell lots of stories that fellow sports fans are genuinely interested in (like how I was an ‘SC fan in the ND student section last October 15). But above all, rooting against a team you normally root for is actually really fun. I’m not talking bandwagoning here — I mean when you’ve got genuine dual loyalties, and those loyalties force you to root against a team you like, you might as well embrace it, because it ends up being a blast. You have more ammunition for trash-talking, because you know a lot about the team, and, well, there’s a certain impish joy in poking fun at the players and coaches you normally cheer for. For example: I grew up in Connecticut, so I generally root for the UConn Huskies. But of course, my loyalty to Notre Dame trumps that general regional affiliation, so when the Huskies come to town, I root for the Irish. And if there’s one basketball game I make sure not to miss, it’s that one. Last year, I had a blast heckling UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma from the ND student section, even though I like Geno. (Even though, in fact, I’m friends with the guy who’s dating his daughter. True story! He’s the guy at left in this picture of us tailgating at the UConn-Army game in October.) Nothing terribly mean, mind you — just harmless taunts like saying his tie was ugly and such. I can’t really explain why this is so much fun, but it is. If you’ve only ever rooted for one team, I suppose you wouldn’t understand. But if you ever find yourself in the position of having dual loyalties, for whatever reason — say you move to a new city, and “adopt” its teams except when they play your old city’s teams, or whatever — you’ll see what I mean.
Anyway, like I said, my Irish fandom isn’t some sort of elaborate ploy to make the Trojans look good. That’s ridiculous. If ND beats USC and somehow makes it into the title game, I will root like hell for the Irish to win the title, even though at that point it can’t “help” the Trojans. More realistically, I’ll root for the Irish in the Sugar Bowl, or wherever they end up, regardless of the USC-ND outcome. Just like how, after last year’s USC-ND game was over, I cheered for Notre Dame in its last six games, plus the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. Of course I did. They’re my second-favorite team!
Frankly, I don’t understand what people don’t understand about this. Of course the initial confusion (”An ‘Irish Trojan’? Huh?”) makes perfect sense, but once it’s explained — I went to undergrad at USC, I go to law school at Notre Dame — most people “get it.” Those who don’t, I think, are generally the folks who take sports way too seriously for their own good. People, it’s football. It’s not like I’m claiming to be a “Jew for Jesus” or something. If your feelings about Notre Dame, or USC, or any sports team really, are so overwhelmingly intense that your whole belief system is shattered by the notion of a person with dual loyalties, you may want to dial down the sports obsession just a notch. Don’t get me wrong, I love sports generally, and college football specifically, as much as the next guy — but at the end of the day, it’s just a game. A small but vocal minority of Domers seems to be very confused on that point. Let me try to clear things up: just because Notre Dame is named after the Virgin Mary doesn’t mean ND football is actually a religion.
Anyway, one last point. About my calling it “USC Week”… technically, Ken is right when he says: “As a USC fan….isn’t this Notre Dame week…not USC week!!” Yeah, normally that would be true. But the thing is, I live in South Bend, and I spend a chunk of each day (well, most days) on Notre Dame’s campus. As such, for me, in my everyday life, this is USC Week. And I freakin’ love it! Fight on! Beat the Irish!
November 21st, 2006 at 8:42:54 am
Heh…I’m not sure if I ever mentioned this before, but I guess I am somewhat more like your Michigan friend than you. I first went to USC…then to UCLA Law School. Suffice it to say that UCLA never became my “second favorite team!”
November 21st, 2006 at 8:46:46 am
Heh. Yeah, I don’t think I ever could have become the “Bruin Trojan” or whatever. Like I said, I never hated Notre Dame, so that’s why I was able to “adopt” them once I became a student here. fUCLA is a whole different animal.
November 21st, 2006 at 9:51:19 am
if you really had dual loyalties, i doubt you would really be posting all this trash all week. i could understand rooting for nd for all the games except when they play usc, but somehow rooting for nd all year and then all of a sudden posting usc trash all week and taking shots at notre dame whenever you have the chance isn’t a cool move in my opinion. why try and piss off your classmates and your school, what are you trying to accomplish? its not even friendly ribbing going on.
November 21st, 2006 at 9:58:36 am
Lou Dobbs is growling at you. Dual loyalties indeed!
November 21st, 2006 at 9:59:59 am
If you think this isn’t “friendly ribbing,” then I’d say you have a very thin skin. Point to what I’ve said that rises above the level of “friendly ribbing.” Saying that Notre Dame is “pwned by a poodle”? Calling Charlie Weis fat? C’mon, that’s all very standard-fare, trash-talk-lite kinda stuff. It’s not like I’m saying anything truly mean or nasty. “Taking shots at notre dame whenever [I] have the chance”? I’ve taken a few shots, sure, but they’ve been friendly shots. (And, need I remind you, I also devoted a whole post to defending Charlie Weis yesterday… so “whenever I have the chance” certainly isn’t right.) What have I said that’s been so offensive?
And, c’mon, do you think people don’t talk a ton of trash to me, too? All I’ve heard from my friends and classmates all season long — and from plenty of Domer commenters on this blog, too — is how USC’s program is dirty, how Pete Carroll is an arrogant asshole, how USC fans are all bandwagoners, how the Trojans are trash, and how the Irish are going to beat them in November. What, you expect me to sit back and take it, and not say anything back, just because I root for the Irish in all their other games? Please. Put yourself in my shoes for a second, and you’ll see how ridiculous that is. I gather you’re a Domer. Suppose you went to USC for law school or grad school. Don’t you think you might, just maybe, engage in a little bit of friendly pre-game trash talk with your Trojan-rooting friends?
Likewise, if my classmates are truly “piss[ed] off,” as opposed to merely annoyed in a friendly sorta way, by my wearing USC stuff this week, then I’d say they, too, have a very thin skin. I see my classmates who went to Michigan wearing Wolverine gear the week before that game, and I don’t get “pissed off.” Oh, sure, I’ll say something to them, like “you’re going down” or whatever, but I don’t get angry. That’s ridiculous. It’s football! What’s to get angry about?
It’s like I said: people who are getting genuinely angry because of anything I’ve said or done here, are taking football way too seriously IMHO. Notre Dame football is not a religion, and therefore, I am not an apostate. I’m just a USC fan attending ND, who normally roots for the Irish, but who desperately wants the Trojans to beat Notre Dame on Saturday, because this game now means more to me than any other… for obvious reasons! If the Irish win, I’ll be hearing about it for the rest of the school year! And I’m surrounded by Irish fans, and a ton of my readers are Irish fans, so of course I’m going to talk some trash this week. Duh.
It’s simply obtuse to pretend that there is any contradiction here.
November 21st, 2006 at 10:11:56 am
P.S. Particularly enlightening is your objection to my “posting usc trash all week.” That seems to imply that you think not only should I not be saying anything negative about Notre Dame, but also, I shouldn’t be saying anything positive about USC, either!
So I guess you’re saying, it’s okay to have dual loyalties, so long as I shut up about it? But if I’m a passionate fan who wants to vocally support his team, then it’s not okay?
You’ll have to forgive me if I conclude that you aren’t actually making much of an effort to “understand.”
November 21st, 2006 at 10:14:33 am
P.P.S. Oh, and by the way, I’m not “all of a sudden posting usc trash all week.” I’ve been posting “USC trash” all season, along with “ND trash.” It comes with the territory. I root for both teams all season long, and I post about both of them all season long… until they play each other, at which time I root for USC and against ND, and post about that.
November 21st, 2006 at 10:49:45 am
At USC I found that amongst most people, most of the time, the USC-ND rivalry is a friendly rivalry based on mutual respect.
The USC-UCLA rivalry however…..
November 21st, 2006 at 10:55:04 am
One thing you don’t understand — which is the main reason people get pissed off — it’s against the rules of being a sports fan to root for rivals. Is there such thing as a Red Sox and Yankees fan? A Cowboys and Redskins fan? Etc., etc. Now, I do understand that you attend/attended both institutions; however, in my mind, that isn’t a sufficient reason to root for both throughout the season. If a Red Sox fan moves to New York, would they then root for the Yankees? Of course not. They follow the rules: never root for your rival. It is just the way it goes. Now, I’m sure you’re going to reply w/ some witty response, which is rooted on sharp intellect. Don’t bother. You’re trying to convince others that what you’re doing is okay, which it isn’t. You don’t understand this basic tenet, and unfortunately, I don’t think you ever will.
I think your purported love for both schools lies in your consistent behavior of rooting for teams who are playing well…and only when they are playing well. Two years ago, it was the Red Sox. I haven’t heard much about the Red Sox since. Last year, it was Gonzaga. Haven’t heard much about the team, or this year’s prospects, on this website. And now, you once again are the biggest USC fan in the world. I happen to remember a certain somebody saying at the start of this year, that he might root for ND this year, as their chances — come USC - ND week — might be better than his alma mater’s. What’s up w/ that? More evidence of selecting the team on top, rather than the team you truly love.
Don’t get me mistaken; I know you love (at least currently) the Trojans. But please, don’t act like you’re the biggest ND fan one week, and the biggest ND hater the next. It may be good natured fun, but it’s against the rules of being a sports fan (see above). I just can’t wait until the cycle actually turns around, ND starts winning NC’s and USC hits a tough patch (as the rivalry goes in cycles), to see who you root for come USC-ND week. You will tell all your friends that it’s a tough choice, but since the Irish actually have a shot at the title, you’ll be rooting for ND. Mark this down.
Again, I don’t expect a reply. It won’t change my mind on the matter, and surely not yours. So please, don’t bother. Just trying to explain people’s reaction to your “torn allegiances.”
November 21st, 2006 at 11:42:16 am
I appreciate the civility of your response. However, you’ve got several facts wrong.
First of all, what I said earlier in the season was that I WOULD NOT root for the Irish over the Trojans, under any circumstances. Once upon a time, before I cared much about this rivalry, I thought maybe I would. Now, I know better. Read it for yourself here. So that part of your argument is just completely wrong. I will ALWAYS root for the Trojans over the Irish, under ALL circumstances.
Secondly, in my experience, most people actually don’t subscribe to your “rule” as religiously as you do. Some people do, sure. (Many of those people are the “sports as religion” people I’m talking about. All I can say to them is, lighten up.) But — again, in my experience — most people understand immediately when I explain my dual loyalties. I went to school at USC; now I go to ND. I root for the Trojans first, the Irish second. To me, because it’s a respectful rivalry, that’s possible. To you, it’s not. Fine. But you aren’t me, so you don’t have any say in the matter! That’s the biggest absurdity about some of those ND Nation idiots: they have the audacity to tell me that I’m not actually an Irish fan, rather than simply saying that I’m an Irish fan who they don’t approve of. I know what’s in my own head and heart. Posters on a random message board don’t.
Thirdly, the “bandwagon” thing. You’re dead wrong. I’ve been rooting for the Red Sox all my life. Sure, I haven’t blogged about them often recently — that’s largely because my blog is devoted to many different topics, so when there isn’t something newsworthy happening with one of my teams, I’m unlikely to blog about them. And “newsworthy” topics are usually good news, so of course I blog more about my teams when they’re doing well. But when something newsworthy happens that isn’t good news — like the Reggie Bush fiasco, for example, or the Mark Sanchez rape allegations — I blogged about that, too. Anyway, “how often I blog about a team” is NOT an accurate way to judge “whether I am rooting for that team.” Your Gonzaga point is ridiculous — it’s barely even basketball season, and you want me to be regularly blogging about them right now? My blog has been described as “a dream come true for someone with A.D.D.,” and one reason for that is that the topics shift wildly from “season” to “season.” Right now, it’s football season. Once basketball season kicks into high gear, you can bet there will be a lot of Gonzaga-blogging… as well as USC basketball blogging. BTW, I devoted quite a few posts last February and March to USC’s chances in the Pac-10 basketball tournament, even though that team was pretty bad. Bandwagon? And how about my frequent posts about the University at Buffalo football team, one of the worst teams in Division I-A. Bandwagon? And how about my rooting for, and blogging about, Notre Dame during Ty’s final season, when they were awful? Bandwagon? And how about the fact that I regularly attended USC’s home games during my first two years, when they were coached by Paul Hackett, and sucked? Bandwagon? That charge just doesn’t hold up to close scrutiny. Yes, I like a lot of different teams, and yes, I sometimes “adopt” new ones. But once I start rooting for team, I root for them in good times and bad. I’m no bandwagoner, by any reasonable definition of “bandwagon.”
Finally, I’d just like to point out that mkovac’s reply completely proves my point about people who take this sh*t WAAAAY too seriously:
I understand that Notre Dame football is all about good times with family and friends, bonds with alums past and future, etc., and I understand holding that part of it “sacred.” But there is nothing in that aspect of the Notre Dame football experience that makes it impossible to root for USC. Where that comes in, is the basic sports aspect — the sports “rules,” as you say. And the idea of holding sports rules “sacred” … well … that’s pretty lame.
November 21st, 2006 at 12:02:41 pm
“Anon,” you do a good job explaining people’s frustrations with Brendan. That said, the only explanation for the posts on NDNation is that the guys on NDNation are far nerdier than Brendan–and they know it.
These guys spend just as much time on the internet as Brendan does, but they have nothing to show for it.
Unlike Brendan, who has the New York Times writing articles about his blog, has an appearance in Spike Lee’s Katrina documentary, and has a film crew wanting to film him during the Notre Dame/North Carolina game, the guys on NDNation waste countelss hours following the lives of high school recruits and desperately clinging to their undergrad years, achieving nothing.
And what, are we to believe that these guys have country club wives at home? Give me a break! These guys live in their basements with their computers and their “Irish-Eyes” subscriptions, constantly re-hashing bygone glory years. Am I to believe that a guy who lives in the past is actually achieving success in the present? Not likely.
People like mkovac and ACross—they’re losers and they know it. Their best years are behind them. Their popularity is purely cyber. Even assuming that they were not rejects earlier in life, there is no doubt that they currently possess reject status today: they remind us of that fact with every inane comment they post, hour upon hour, day after day.
The Backer says it best when he describes NDNation as “NDNartion.”
November 21st, 2006 at 12:07:32 pm
PS: One more thing.
The guys on NDNation take a lot of pride in Notre Dame, as they well should. The guys on NDNation love to talk about the atmosphere of a Notre Dame football saturday and how Notre Dame fans are classier than Michigan State fans and Michigan fans, etc., etc.
And yet, despite all of their pride, they are saying that they want people to throw things at Brendan.
Well, the question is obvious: why on earth to NDNation posters complain about Michigan fans, and MSU fans, and GA Tech fans, and Miami fans? Where’s THEIR class?
November 21st, 2006 at 12:18:52 pm
In the style of the times:
Brendan, you’re a stupidhead.
P.S. And a bad fan.
P.P.S. And you bandwagon too.
P.P.P.S. You have red hair and own a black cat, which everyone knows is the sign of the devil. You should be burned as a witch.
P.P.P.P.S. I am also offended, as Anon. pointed out above, by your lack of attention to Gonzaga Football. Isn’t being undefeated since 1942 good enough for you???
P.P.P.P.P.S. ;)
November 21st, 2006 at 12:27:37 pm
“…It’s not like I’m claiming to be a ‘Jew for Jesus’ or something…just because Notre Dame is named after the Virgin Mary doesn’t mean ND football is actually a religion.”
Of course you do realize, that now in Addition to the “it was Charlie Weis got born in that stable” crowd, you’re also gonna have the “Yeshua is Messiah” folks anathematizing your ass :). Yes and beware the Manischewitz bottles hurtling toward your apostate noggin, along with the celto-druidic holywater (church-latin, “uisgebaugh” :) empties. ;>
A propos of which ~ “why try and piss off your classmates and your school, what are you trying to accomplish? its not even friendly ribbing going on” ~ I think MAYBE the Unfriendly Fire hungry bruno MAY have had in mind, is the erudite commentary on ND Nation’s doctors-of-Theology board, more than your stuff here. / IF so, then of course he is merely advising, Never try to teach a pig to sing: it won’t work, and it will Annoy the Pig.
Pax vobiscum :)
(PS: screw ‘SC and ND. Hoya Saxa! :)
November 21st, 2006 at 1:38:48 pm
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on the rivalry issue. Because you don’t understand it, or don’t agree with it, I don’t think you’ll ever understand the true nature of a rivalry — which is unfortunate, because the hatred, and yet respect, between both teams is what makes the games so special.
The personal attacks are classless, but in a way should be expected, as you are the one w/ the blog.
While I don’t follow your blog daily — and thus, can’t track every post you’ve written — I still believe that you have a propensity to bandwagon. Just an honest opinion.
November 21st, 2006 at 1:52:10 pm
Frankly, I think it’s exceedingly arrogant to assert that there is one “true nature of a rivalry” which transcends individual fans’ understandings, or that you and people who “understand” things your way somehow have a monopoly on “what makes the games so special.” The USC-ND game is very, very special to me, too — just in a different way from how it’s special to you. There are many different types of sports fans in this world, and many different ways to appreciate sporting events, and there’s room for all of them. It isn’t that your way is “true” and my way is “false.” They’re just different. I hate to sound like Stuart Smalley, but we can “understand” and appreciate this rivalry in different ways, and that’s… okay.
I certainly do, and did, expect the personal attacks. Indeed, that’s how I started this post: “As I expected would happen…” It’s unfortunate that so many of the posters on ND Nation are immature assholes (at least in their online personas; of course I have no clue what they’re like in “real life”), and more broadly, that the whole ethos of the ND Nation board is one that encourages immature assholishness… but that’s a reality I’ve long since accepted.
Finally, I don’t have a propensity to bandwagon. That’s an assertion of fact, not opinion, and it doesn’t become true no matter how often I’m accused of it. It’s just factually false, whether “honestly” believed or not. (One of the most hilarious things that’s happened this semester is when a couple of my classmates accused me of being a bandwagon fan of University of Buffalo football. UB… a team that’s won nine games since moving up to Division I-A in 1999. There is no UB bandwagon. And as for Gonzaga, I was on the bandwagon before it existed, back in 1995.) Unless the definition of the word “bandwagon” is twisted beyond recognition, it is simply not possible to accurately accuse me of being a bandwagon fan. Period.
November 21st, 2006 at 2:03:45 pm
I feel your pain and understandably so as I’m a domer from undergrad and an SEC school for grad school. Folks in the south can’t figure out why I love both schools but when the week they meet up hits…the green pants definitely come out! I have a sense of appreciation for your honesty and see truth in your example of “hometown teams” as at any instution where students come from many areas of the country, you bring a sense of pride from your hometown with you. The duel loyalties are legit!
November 21st, 2006 at 2:13:24 pm
And the idea of holding sports rules “sacred� … well … that’s pretty lame.
No, its damn frightening is what it is. I love college football, but holy hell when you see people resorting to physical violence or serious threats there of over it, its downright disturbing! Anyone who is willing to engage in physical violence over a game should be locked up (and yes i realize that would put just about 90% of European soccer fans in jail ;-) )
November 21st, 2006 at 2:22:06 pm
Many sports analysists say don’t forget about Michigan. They’re the only team that contains a “quality loss” dropping their only game to Ohio State. They proved they could stay with the NO. 1 Buckeyes and they were absolutley strong enough to give OSU a well deserved scare. Some analysists are going with No. 5 Arkansas. They are the only ubeaten in conference play. The SEC hasn’t been really ranked the easiest conference this year. Face it! Arkansas had a rough schedule and managed to remain on top.
I see it differently. If Notre Dame can prove they are good enough and beat USC, Ohio State needs to drown in worries about a possible match-up with the IRISH. Notre Dame has proved to have a killer offense lead by Brady Quinn. I think with a little luck; they have a shot at the National Title.
November 21st, 2006 at 3:03:15 pm
You gotta admit, though, the “bachelor party” video was pretty funny.
November 21st, 2006 at 3:19:47 pm
Sorry but how do you tell Michigan, which creamed Notre Dame IN SOUTH BEND, that the Irish deserve a shot at the national championship, but not them even thought they lost to Ohio State by a field goal? Its going to be USC, Florida, maybe Arkansas, but if none of those three? Michigan.
November 21st, 2006 at 3:45:47 pm
Further proof that people take not only sports but universities way. Too. Seriously. I don’t use my real name here, but if you saw it you’d recognize it as being rather closely associated with some of the Notre Dame mythology; and goddamn if I don’t do my very best to avoid telling people what it is at ND events or on campus. And God forbid one of these fat, balding, worthless NDNation slobs catches me saying something less than pristine about Our Lady’s University — suddenly they know exactly how disappointed my family would be in me if they heard me utter such blasphemy.
Moral of the story: I couldn’t really give less of a damn about ND football or any football at all. I care whether ND gives its students the best education they can get. I could not possibly care any less whether any of its sports teams ever wins a game. That said, I guess I don’t really get Brendan’s glee at pissing people off (because, really, Brendan, let’s be honest — that’s why you put on this big show); but if he wants to make himself the target of a bunch of irrational buffoons that’s his business.
November 21st, 2006 at 4:14:27 pm
NDLS, first of all, now you’ve made us all curious. Thanks a lot. ;)
Secondly, you’re actually wrong. I don’t blame you for misinterpreting my motives, but in point of fact, my goal is not to “piss people off.” I obviously realize that that’s an inevitable side effect, but my goal is simply to have a good time engaging in back-and-forth good-natured ribbing with Irish fans. That some people take this stuff so seriously is bizarre to me, but inflaming their overheated passions is not something I affirmatively enjoy. As I said, I realize it’s inevitable, and the unpleasantness of it isn’t enough to dissuade me from my chosen course of action, but I don’t like it. I would prefer if the only reaction I got was the type I got from my classmate yesterday, who responded to my USC outfit by shaking his head, rolling his eyes and saying, “Brendan, that’s not even worthy of a comment,” or from the guy in the lounge today, who, upon seeing what I was wearing after we’d been talking about the BCS for a while, said, “I just hope, after the Irish beat USC 41-3, the voters will wake up and realize that they should put Notre Dame in the championship game.” (To which I replied, “After the Irish beat USC 41-3, I think you’ll wake up and realize that it was just a dream, and the game is today.” Or words to that effect.) That’s the kind of response I’m looking for, and it’s the kind of response I get from most people: good-natured ribbing, which often leads to fun conversation with total strangers. (I can’t tell you how often someone asking me why I’m wearing USC clothes has led to something along the lines of, “Oh, you went to USC? My sister’s friend’s cousin went there,” or “My brother lives in Orange County,” or whatever. Most people around this campus are actually friendly — and, lo and behold, so am I!) As for my goal in putting all this stuff on my blog… well… I don’t know if you were around tthe week before the UCLA game last year, but I put a big anti-UCLA logo on the blog and taunted the Bruins. Likewise, prior to the Rose Bowl, I had a big countdown and “BEAT THE LONGHORNS” type stuff on my left-hand column. Did that mean my goal was to “piss off” Bruin or Longhorn fans? Or was I just getting psyched, via my blog, for my team’s big games? Obviously the answer is the latter. This is, roughly speaking, no different.
As I said above, I do get a certain “impish joy” out of rooting against teams I normally like, such as Notre Dame. But it has nothing to do with “pissing people off” to the point of actual, honest-to-goodness anger. I actually really dislike making people angry, even when they have no good reason to be angry. But at the same time, I’m not going to let the terrorists, errrr, ND Nation posters, win, by dialing down my enthusiasm for the Trojans just because it irks them so.
November 21st, 2006 at 4:15:28 pm
So we’re all clear: ND Nation is furious because young Loy makes no bones about the fact that he roots fervently against the team (ND) that stands squarely between his favorite team (USC) and their season-long objective (NC)?
A lot of those posters over there are not only assholes, they are chickenshits. They won’t say the obvious conclusion in the paragraph above, rather they will say Brendan sucks because he’s a geek or his manner of cheering is bad, etc - which, even if true, the world is full of geeks and you’d think a self-important ND Nation poster would find something more important to do than go around calling out geeks…
My favorite was the guy who wants to blacklist the IT’s resume. Solid effort. Referencing the first paragraph - there are few employees worse than the one wants to see his interests overcome impediments to their success -who would want to hire one such as that? (/sarcasm)…(sighs).
November 21st, 2006 at 4:56:23 pm
No they are furious because no serious sports fan has ever seen someone root for both teams. You can’t be a Yankees/Red Sox fan, a Bears/Packers fan, a Steelers/Browns fan. If you claim you are, then you are not really a fan of either.
November 21st, 2006 at 5:02:12 pm
Again with the arrogant “my way or the highway” attitude.
If I don’t follow your rules regarding what it means to be a “real” fan, then I don’t count. It isn’t just that you disapprove of me — it’s that I’m “not really a fan.” What you say, goes, apparently.
I don’t go around saying that you’re “not really a fan” just because you’re an arrogant jerk — even though I disapprove of arrogant jerks. You disapprove of me rooting for both teams; fine. But who died and made you God, such that you get to decide who’s a “real fan” and who isn’t?
Can’t we all just get along?
November 21st, 2006 at 5:04:09 pm
P.S. BTW, Joe, if you stop and think about it for a second, even if we accept your faulty premise that I’m not a “real fan,” your comment actually doesn’t explain why people are “furious.” It explains why they disapprove, why they’re annoyed, why they’re irked. But furious? Only someone with serious psychological issues would be “furious” because a stranger is, in their eyes, “not a real fan.” I mean, how bizarre, honestly.
November 21st, 2006 at 5:16:13 pm
Well Brendan, I can see where you’re coming from with the whole USC/ND thing, and under similar circumstances, I see doing the same thing. If I became a professor at, say Florida, I’d be okay with having dual loyalties. The LSU/Florida rivalry, like USC/ND, is one of mutual respect, not a blood feud like USC/UCLA, same way I could never cheer for Ole Miss.
November 21st, 2006 at 5:25:13 pm
You’re there for law school, period. I don’t expect a transplant to understand a life long ND fan. It’s about more than 1 game and if you don’t get it, you never will. When you put yourself out there for the world to see, you should only expect to take some hits. The lawerly analysis and arguments you post here don’t work for any domer or subway alumni. You’ll never understand us and we certainly don’t understand you. We’d prefer you focus on your law degree and stay away from the stadium. A loyal fan is with a team through and through. You are more of a fan of convenience since you happen to be there for law school. If you went to just about any other school, this wouldn’t matter.
November 21st, 2006 at 5:26:45 pm
Brendan, I think you have to be honest with yourself and admit that you like pissing people off a little bit with this self-promotion of your dual loyalties.
The ladies at work hated your sweatshirt. The one was all like, “you did not walk in here wearing that.” I just gave her a wink.
I think it’s hard for some people to understand just how important Notre Dame football is to the people of South Bend, you know, the ones who don’t go to ND and probably never could. It’s their pro-team. The townies know who Brady Quinn’s mother is and will ask her for her autograph. I don’t know about you, but uh, if I passed Matt Leinart’s mum in the street, I wouldn’t know it.
And the people at ND nation just make me laugh. I loved the pick of David that they posted over there. LOL!
B, is your second favorite pac-10 team really Washington? That’s so LAME! Mine is ASU. Sparky is the best mascot in the Pac-10! Well, the tree is pretty cool too, I guess.
November 21st, 2006 at 5:38:31 pm
Becky, I do admit that I like pissing people off “a little bit.” Pissed off in a good-natured, friendly kind of way, sort of like the way Mike Tran was pissed off when people forced him to do pushups after ND beat UCLA. That sort of “pissed off,” yes, absolutely — and I would have absolutely no problem with the reverse. For example, if ND beats USC, I fully expect people will talk trash to me, and it’ll be in good fun, and I won’t bitch about it. It’ll irk me, but that’s it. That’s what rivalries and trash-talking are all about!
It’s the people who get morbidly offended, like I’ve called their mother a whore by wearing a USC shirt, whose pissed-offedness I neither seek nor enjoy. Likewise the people who adopt this silly holier-than-thou attitude about how I’m not a “real fan” just because I happen to have dual loyalties. That kind of “pissed off” is just dumb.
November 21st, 2006 at 7:03:54 pm
A picture? Of little old me??? DO you have a link, i’d love to see it!!
November 21st, 2006 at 7:05:39 pm
It’s the “having a blast at my (and Becky’s) expense” link … scroll down.
November 21st, 2006 at 7:08:21 pm
rr,
Thats yet another example of the incredibly dumb argument of “if you don’t root for a team the way i do you arne’t really a fan”. Utter and complete tripe. One doesn’t have to be fanatically devoted to a team to be a real fan. Frankly the people who are so self righteous about their fandom are the ones i think really need help. And this comes from someone who loves college football. I think Brendan gets it, I sure know that I get it, YOU are the one who doesn’t get it. You and your NDNation brethern need some perspective in life. And this is the most arrogant, asinine and frankly wrong headed line of the whole thing:
We’d prefer you focus on your law degree and stay away from the stadium
So unless you are willing to devote your entire life to kissing Charlie Weis ass you aren’t welcome? Wow, like i said before, get…some…THERAPY.
November 21st, 2006 at 7:09:28 pm
Sweet, they got my good side :D
November 21st, 2006 at 10:22:09 pm
Well, first, Brendan, you’d first have to countenance the idea that I completely invented my handle :).
Second, that’s the kind of “pissed off” I meant — but, honestly, you devote a little too much time to orchestrating public displays (like the intense wardrobe change maneuvers at the Army game) for the reaction of others to be a mere afterthought.
And, rr, give me an effing break. Also? I hate the term and the idea of “subway alumni.” If you didn’t go to ND, you are a fan, not some kind of honorary degree holder.