If you are a Notre Dame blogger (BGS, HLS, Rakes- ahem, ahem) and wish to join the Gathering, please e-mail me at [email protected] and I will fill you in on the details. Also, feel free to answer the questions for this weeks gathering and post your link as well.
This week Notre Dame faces another “rival” in Stanford. Stanford is not what most fans would consider as a rivalry, but there is a trophy that goes along with this game. So lets jump in to a discussion about rivalries.
Here we go…
1. This is Notre Dame. Notre Dame is the game circled on just about every opposing teams schedule. They hate us and want to destroy us. So, it is safe to say that if ND plays a team every year, that game will become a big game for ND and an even bigger game for the opponent. So, pick any team that ND does not currently play and make that team a rival and create a rivalry trophy to go along with your rival of choice.
Penn State. This is kind of an easy one for me. Throughout the last 30 years, whenever ND has played PSU, this game was one of the biggest slated games of the week if not the year. The proximity of the two schools and the fact that both schools recruit a lot of the same players makes this game a great regional choice. I also believe that both schools will continue to play good football and if they would play each other every year, this could be a top 10 matchup in a lot of those years. And I hate Zombie Nation.
The trophy? What else but a huge snow globe with a Leprechaun and a Nittany Lion locked in mortal combat with each other inside of the globe. It can sit on a large oak base with the winner for each year getting an emblem to put on it. The emblems can be a cloverleaf and a paw print or if PSU wishes, a pair of glasses.
This game is the reason why…
2. What current rival of ND (Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Boston College, Stanford, Southern California- all trophy games) would you take off of the schedule and never play again?
Stanford. I have absolutely no hate towards this team and I believe that is a key ingredient in any rivalry game. There are reasons for this game. Stanford alum Charles Schwab donated the money for O’Neil Hall at ND and the school likes to end up on the west coast to end the season for recruiting reasons. And… I don’t care. Stanford will never be a very good team for more than a year or two span. I think Harbaugh is doing a great job at Stanford and is recruiting top talent, but he will be gone and the next Willingham will step in and take over. Dump the trees.
3. What entertainment rival (whether it be TV, movies, or celebrity) would you compare to ND and one of its current rivals?
Notre Dame VS. Southern Cal = Victor Newman VS. Jack Abbot. These rivals are fierce and they are out to utterly destroy one another. Like Victor and Jack, ND and USC take turns in dishing out blow after blow for years at a time until it looks like one of the schools is dead and the other is standing victorious for centuries to come. But, as in all soap operas, the action continues and the players keep plotting to destroy one another while sleeping with the others lovers (recruiting).
“I AM Notre Dame. Don’t you forget that.”
4. List your top 5 historical college football rivalries. After that, list your top 5 college football rivalries as of 2008.
Historical
- Ohio State/Michigan
- Notre Dame/USC
- Army/Navy
- Alabama/Auburn
- Texas/Oklahoma
2008
- Texas/Oklahoma
- Florida/Georgia
- Pitt/West Virginia
- Ohio state/Michigan
- Oregon/Oregon State
5. There are a lot of rivalry games out there. What is a great rivalry game that may not be as well known as the ones in your top 5 and explain why it so fantastic.
Minnesota VS. Wisconsin. Starting next year when the Gophers get their new stadium, this could be a bad weather game every year. That’s sweet. Snow, cold, and oh yeah… a fucking AXE for a trophy. That’s badass. A trophy that you could actually go to prison for, if you threw it at someone. In 2003 (I think) the Minnesota kicker kicked a game winning FG as the clock expired and ran over to the Badger bench and took the trophy from them. He was from Australia. If a game can bring out that kind of passion in an Aussie living in Minnesota, it has my vote.
Wisconsin did take it back…
Please post links to responses in comments section below.
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