Notre Dame And The Inevitable

First off, I have to apologize for disappearing over the last few days. On Saturday, I really fucked my head up. Surprisingly enough, it had nothing to do with Notre Dame football ( I swear y’all).

Ran head first into a metal door a little while ago (accident).Fairly certain I have a concussion.May not write much about the game tonight

— Joshua Vowles (@TheSubwayDomer) November 9, 2014

What I didn’t mention in that tweet, was that just an hour earlier, I had hit my head with a crowbar (also a complete accident and in no way had anything to do with OH MY GOD WHAT JUST HAPPENED NOTRE DAME?). I’ve had more than a few concussions in my life, and the second incident on Saturday brought me another one. With that, came the migraines and the inability to focus on things like “screens” or really anything for that matter.

I snapped out of it sometime Monday night, and I was finally able to concentrate on more than just not falling down. I watched the game (no I didn’t get another concussion) and jumped on the web for the general fan and media reactions. Given the hour, I decided that I wouldn’t even try to catch up on the site. No “Defeat” or “Bagpipe Monday” or “Hangover” posts this week. I really only mention all of that, because A) I’m not a bitch that crawls in a hole after a loss & B) I’ve seen this quite a few times before and thought I should share that thought instead.

This is the inevitable Notre Dame loss. Now, this really has nothing to do with Charlie Weis or Ty Willingham or Bob Davie. This has do do with Lou Holtz and Brian Kelly.

Many people have a much more romanticized version of the Lou Holtz era than what really happened. Lou “only” won one national title while at Notre Dame. A lot of the people praising him now, were cursing him in 1995. Granted, Lou got fucked out of at least one title (1993 to be exact) but, there were games that we saw that inevitable loss, that crushing blow to our manhood, and the killer of seasons (national title seasons). I can count about 7 of them.

Why do I bring all of this up? Because the inevitable happened after the Arizona State loss. The internet heathens rose up to admonish Brian Kelly and the program. The odd thing was that a lot of well known Kelly “haters” defended the situation as they fell just short of defending Brian Kelly. They were smart enough to know that this shit happens. They are smart enough to realize that despite any faults they may find with Brian Kelly, 2012 actually happened and his time here has been the most successful era since those sweet days of Lou. (And while I’m thinking about it, Kelly had a much harder draw with 2012 Alabama than Holtz with did with 1988 West Virgina- yes, massive bonus points to Holtz for slaying 1988 Miami).

Perhaps I’m still suffering from the head injuries from Saturday or perhaps I’m a little drunk (what do you think the odds are that I’m both?). Despite that, I still feel really good about this season and the program in general. I’m not sure when the tradition started that after any loss the entire fanbase must do a program evaluation- but it’s getting kind of old. You’re (you bastard good time killers) killing the fun.

Notre Dame still has a shot at one of the New Years 6 bowls (or whatever we are calling them) even though they just got dropped to #18 in the CFB Playoff poll (those people decide what teams make it to the New Years 6). It might be somewhat of a small chance, but it’s enough to get me excited about the remaining 3 games on the schedule.

This team has some issues, and a lot of those issues come from injuries, youth, suspensions, AND OH MY GOD ANOTHER TURNOVER. All of which can be remedied for a run in 2015. I’m not much of a “wait till next year” guy, but next year is lining up to be one hell of a year. Until then, however, I’m still having fun with 2014, and I’m still excited that Notre Dame is 7-2 with a chance to finish 11-2. Hell, 10-3 is still better than 95% of the preseason predictions were anyways.

I might be woozy, but I ain’t stupid. The season is closing in on us quickly, and I’m still here fistpumping the fuck out of it. Sorry, but I’m not sorry that this is still fun. I remember 2007, and Lou, and the inevitable losses and wins and- well whatever. It’s bound to happen.