http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/colle ... ossom.html
Interesting that you guys continuously rag on the SEC for their aversion to those newfangled airplane thingies, but also rag on ND when, at least in that sense, ND is the anti-SEC.Notre Dame needs to play in New York on a regular basis to remain city's link to college football
Dick Weiss
Sunday, November 21st 2010, 4:00 AM
Notre Dame may have faded from the Top 25, but the Irish will never fade from the national consciousness in college football.
The program means too much to its loyal fans. No matter what Notre Dame's record is in any given season, it will always be a big deal when the Irish come to town.
The Irish built a national following because they were not constrained by any conference allegiances or state boundaries early on. They became the first team to traverse the country on a regular basis during the Knute Rockne era, creating the same type of mystique the Harlem Globetrotters manufactured in basketball.
Notre Dame cast its spell over this city as soon as it arrived to play Army in the 50th meeting of this fabled series Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 54,251, many of whom paid $95 just to sit in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium
The Irish marched over the Cadets, 27-3, in a God-and-country extravaganza that was turned electric by the thousands of subway alums in their Notre Dame gear who jammed their way onto the B and D trains that led to this baseball cathedral at 161st. St. and River Ave.
"There are those who felt New York City's not a college football town," Notre Dame first-year coach Brian Kelly said. "At least, it was tonight. And our players fed off the energy that was here the last 48 hours."
The noticeably improved Irish defense, learning from its mistakes in a 35-17 loss to Navy last month at the Meadowlands, dulled Army's similar looking triple option, limiting the Cadets to three first downs after their first possession with a four-man front that Army coach Rich Ellerson admitted caught him by surprise.
This was more than just a football game for the administration of the Catholic university in South Bend, Ind. It was a chance for the school to reach out and touch the community again and reconnect with the thousands of graduates living in the metropolitan area by duplicating the feeling of a Notre Dame football weekend.
The Irish realize that until Kelly shows he is the man to lead them out of the wilderness for good, they will have to make the event surrounding the games bigger than the games themselves.
The list of official events included a Friday luncheon for Kelly that was hosted by enthusiastic Notre Dame alum Regis Philbin - who proudly displayed pictures of his undergraduate days earlier that morning on the "Regis and Kelly" show he co-hosts - and presided over by university president Father John Jenkins, AD Jack Swarbrick and 1947 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lujack. There was an educational seminar on "Breaking the Stained Glass Ceiling: Fifty years after the first Catholic President," a pep rally at Lincoln Center, a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, a band concert at Duffy Park, a reception for the members of all Recognition Societies and a game-day tailgate at the New York Sheraton.
Notre Dame has always been a place for coaches to validate themselves. The great ones - Rockne, Frank Leahy and Lou Holtz - have statues erected in their honor outside Notre Dame Stadium. The rest disappear into the mist.
Holtz was the last Notre Dame coach to win a national championship, in 1988. But there hasn't been a coach since Holtz resigned in 1996 who made the program better than it was when he arrived.
Kelly is the latest candidate to attempt to wake up the echoes. His team is 6-5, and finally bowl-eligible, which should put a silver lining on what has been a star-crossed, injury-plagued season. Kelly seems more comfortable in the job, but the Irish still need a victory at USC next week to surpass Charlie Weis' six-win total of last season.
Without the ability to dominate the way they used to, the Irish felt they needed to do something different to engage their fan base. Whereas the faithful at one time would make the pilgrimage to South Bend to watch a would-be national champion, they now require "at your door" service.
This game at Yankee Stadium was the continuation of a smart marketing strategy developed by former AD Kevin White, who wanted to honor the school's barnstorming history. White developed a scheduling format of seven home games, four road games and one off-site game that was first used last year when the Irish beat Washington State in San Antonio, 40-14. Future games include Maryland at FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C., next year, Miami at Chicago's Soldier Field in 2012 and Arizona State at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas in 2013.
"I'd think any coach would like to sleep in his own bed," Kelly said. "But I know the realities that have to be when it comes to television. And there has to be a time and place where you move those games to give you better leverage. I'm a realist in that I'm a football coach and that means they tell me where to play the games and I play them."
Notre Dame needs to play in New York on a regular basis. Rutgers may have designs on becoming the State U. for the five boroughs, but the Irish will always be this city's link to college football in good times and bad.
The lines to get on the crowded subways don't lie.