Why is ND playing Navy in Dublin, again?

[Screw_Michigan]

Simple question. TIA, or go fuck yourselves.

[Carson]

Ever heard of the Fighting Irish?

No, they're not a band like Air France.

[Left Seater]

So they can practice winning in a bowl like setting?

[Truman]

There was some talk when this game was first announced that the Irish might be looking to take advantage of the Hawaii Rule, but as Notre Dame only has 12 games scheduled next season, that doesn't appear to be the case. I'm not overly convinced that rule would apply even if Notre Dame wanted to schedule a 13th game.

Regardless, Dublin is expecting a €50M boon when the Irish and Middies come calling next September...

[Screw_Michigan]

Ever heard of the Fighting Irish?

It's a French school, idiot. Should the Miami Redskins play a game in Oklahoma or North Dakota for the fuck of it? Die in a construction accident.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Ever heard of the Fighting Irish?

Yet it's still a valid question.

[King Crimson]

still think playing Baylor in New Orleans is weirder.

[Terry in Crapchester]

ND and Navy played in Dublin in '96. The trip went over very well, so I think there had been plans to do it again for awhile. Quite possibly, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the kids, so why not?

As for Truman's comments, I heard nothing about the so-called "Hawai'i rule" with respect to this game. In any event, as he mentioned, there are only 12 games on ND's schedule this year.

Speaking of Hawai'i, I've heard (and perhaps Lefty can confirm this) that it's actually a shorter flight from ND to Dublin than it is from ND to Honolulu. One thing I learned in the Navy (and this would apply to air travel as well) is that on long-distance trips, you sail closer to the polar region, since lines of longitude converge at the poles. Obviously, that's a lot more doable on a trip to Dublin than it is on a trip to Honolulu.

[Left Seater]

Terry is correct, Dublin is closer to South Bend than Hawaii. 4300 miles vs 3600. Granted these are great circle distances which is the shortest distance between two points on a globe. Planes don't fly those exactly due to a number of factors but they give us a good comparison.

Costs to get to Dublin could be much cheaper too as ND could charter a 757 which would have the legs to make it non stop, while it wouldn't make HNL. However, going to Dublin requires passports for all on the trip. Most kids don't have one, and this isn't something that a school can pay for. just imagine the headache coordinating that. Tyronne, did you get your passport photo? Let me see it. Hey, this won't work, you have a hat on and your grill in.

[Van]

Die in a construction accident.

I've decided that this is my absolute favorite thing about any Screwball post. It has almost become like a drinking game for me, waiting to see and rate his next "die ___ _______" command.

This one is my leader in the clubhouse...

Die of ass cancer.

I was always partial to "die in a fire of AIDS," but now I'm not so sure. "Ass cancer"?

[Terry in Crapchester]

However, going to Dublin requires passports for all on the trip. Most kids don't have one, and this isn't something that a school can pay for.

I ask this because I honestly don't know, but . . .

Is an exception available where, as here, the passport is necessary for the player to fulfill his obligations under his scholarship?

Certainly, there's some precedent for this, as this is not the first college football game played overseas. Just off the top of my head:

- ND played Navy in Dublin in '96.
- ND and Miami played in Tokyo in '79.
- If memory serves, USC also played a game in Japan, although without looking it up, I don't remember when or against whom.
- The International Bowl was played in Toronto from 2005 to 2007 or 2008. Granted, it used to be possible to travel to Canada without a passport. That changed in the post-9/11 era, although I don't remember off the top of my head when that change occurred relative to the history of this bowl game.

In any event, it's not an issue for Navy since a military ID card is sufficient for overseas travel, which may have been part of the reason that this game was scheduled against Navy. And I'm pretty sure that ND only dresses 70 players for away games (this is considered an away game), so even if it's permissible for the school to pay for the passports, I think that permission would only extend to the 70 who actually dress for the game.

[Left Seater]

Terry, I did some asking around after posting that and the consensus seems to be that no one knows for sure. Including the new travel secretary at New Mexico who was just hired by an old ND coach Bobby D. One lady from the Northeast that I talk to was way off her rocker. She was saying that getting passports for the athletes would be some sort of illegal recruiting advantage since it was something that the ND coaches could offer recruits to sign. I politely pointed out that the game has been on the schedule for some time now and wouldn't that be just as big a recruiting tool.

But I think ND must be getting a waiver from the NCAA on this. Your point is valid on the number of travelers, but I don't think they can say who is going to make up the travel party for that game until just a few days before departure. I am sure they will be working on this passport issue this summer. Better to have everyone apply early than to have an injury in camp and suddenly need someone to get one.

The only other way I could see this working if the NCAA doesn't grant a waiver is for ND to withhold per diem from travel days. But that too creates issues because this is the first game of the season and no per diem will have been distributed. Plus, there will be some players who don't travel at all and therefore will get no per diem.

[The Seer]

Because Ireland is "neutral".

[Terry in Crapchester]

But I think ND must be getting a waiver from the NCAA on this. Your point is valid on the number of travelers, but I don't think they can say who is going to make up the travel party for that game until just a few days before departure. I am sure they will be working on this passport issue this summer. Better to have everyone apply early than to have an injury in camp and suddenly need someone to get one.

As far as who travels for the game, my guess is that every player who wants to travel will be permitted to do so, just because it's such a unique trip. Even if ND can get a waiver, though, I'm not sure the waiver applies to any player who does not dress for the game.

As far as the players who dress for the game, most of them are pretty easy to figure out. Start out with everyone on the two-deep roster, plus a third QB. Add a punter, one or two kickers, and, if not already included, the long-snapper, holder, kickoff returner and punt returner. That will put you at around 50 players right there. From there, the rest of the group probably gets rounded out by a third TE, a third and possibly fourth RB, a few additional players whose positions depend on which players are pulling double duty on the two-deep, a second punter, a second kicker if not already covered, and anyone not otherwise included who is a key player on special teams. Of course, there will always be a few last-minute decisions based on injuries, but I can't see more than five spots being determined on that basis.

[Left Seater]

As far as who travels for the game, my guess is that every player who wants to travel will be permitted to do so, just because it's such a unique trip. Even if ND can get a waiver, though, I'm not sure the waiver applies to any player who does not dress for the game.

The NCAA sets the travel party at a certain number, when I was playing that number was 60. I know it went up a few years ago, but not sure if it is 70. The only time I know the NCAA allows more is for bowl games. Just last year ABC did a story on two guys from OU that weren't part of the travel roster, but were spending their own money to get from Norman to damn near all of the road games. They drove to most and flew to a couple.

If the NCAA does in fact allow a waiver for the passports and for the entire squad to travel, I would think more teams would schedule a game like this. It is basically a bowl game to start the season. Granted not everyone could do it, but those that are already paying a patsy for the 7th or 8th home game could do this.

[Terry in Crapchester]

If the NCAA does in fact allow a waiver for the passports and for the entire squad to travel, I would think more teams would schedule a game like this. It is basically a bowl game to start the season. Granted not everyone could do it, but those that are already paying a patsy for the 7th or 8th home game could do this.

I'm not sure I agree with this. You could probably support travel to a place like Toronto or Mexico City. Beyond that, I'm not so sure.

Remember, college football hasn't done nearly as good a job marketing itself overseas as the NFL has done. And in ND's case, they very well could have at least a casual fanbase in Dublin to begin with, merely by virtue of being the "Fighting Irish."

At a minimum, a game like this would be an absolute budget-buster for most of the patsies who occupy the Week 1 schedules of BCS teams. Those schools agree to those games essentially in exchange for a healthy paycheck that sometimes keeps the entire athletic department afloat for the year.

Even with the mid-pack BCS schools, I'm not sure that, say, Ole Miss could pull something off like this. For that matter, I don't think ND could pull it off if we tried to do it more often than once in a blue moon.

It's also worth noting that a travel agency started by one of my ND classmates has a travel package for this game. http://www.anthonytravel.com/notredame/nd-navy-ireland/ Not saying that other schools couldn't do something similar, but I'm reasonably certain that ND will sell its entire ticket allotment for this game. Again, I'm not sure how successful other schools would be in doing so, or that ND would be nearly as successful if they tried to do this more often.

[Left Seater]

Granted there are only 10 or 15 programs that could do this. They would have to foot the travel bill for both schools and still pay the visitors.

But I have no doubt that if they did this once every six years or so it would still be a winner. Not much different than playing at Hawaii for many programs as you pointed out earlier in this post.

But I have no doubt the Texas', OU's, USC's, Ohio State's etc could make this work. Sell an additional charter or two to the alumni to offset costs somewhat. I know OU and Texas already sell seats on their band/cheer charters for away games.