12/23/24
June 19, 2008
Five More Years of Notre Dame on NBC: The broadcast network has reached a deal to broadcast Notre Dame football for another five years, ending in 2015. Seven games will be played at home in South Bend, plus one at a neutral site airing in prime time. The once-dominant Irish have fallen on hard luck in recent decades, going 3-9 last season and losing nine straight bowl games.
I'm amazed that the Irish still have drawing power. They haven't been in the running for a national title for at least 15 years. The TV contract and Irish fans around the country are their only selling points these days. A new recruit would have been a toddler the last time they were great.
posted by rcade at 01:14 PM on June 19, 2008
Thanks for nothing, rcade. That makes me feel old. I was in college when Holtz was whining about Florida State winning the national championship even though Notre Dame beat FSU.
posted by bperk at 01:42 PM on June 19, 2008
nothing like mentioning the irish to bring the haters out. i'm an NFL fan primarily, the only college i'll watch is Notre Dame. nice to know they'll have their own network for a few more years.
posted by tnip23 at 01:49 PM on June 19, 2008
Oh, thank God. I was worried I'd be able to find a place on Earth where I could get away from the weekly misery. Here's to hoping they spend some of the cash on questionable recruits. I'm amazed that the Irish still have drawing power. It's probably only got a generation or so to go and I imagine it's dwindling. I never went to Notre Dame, no one in my family ever went to Notre Dame. We're fierce supporters because my grandfather was; he grew up in the early part of the twentieth century when it was still possible to be called a "papist" in a public school in one of the more Catholic states in the country (Rhode Island). Notre Dame represents something. I couldn't quite tell you what it was and I'll freely admit it's anachronistic given the success of the first waves of Catholic immigrants in the US, but it remains because the Know Nothing spirit still remains in pockets in this country.
posted by yerfatma at 01:58 PM on June 19, 2008
nothing like mentioning the irish to bring the haters out. The Irish aren't good enough right now to be hated. They've given opponents five wins a year -- many nationally televised no less -- the past 10 years. I think the hate here is for all that national airtime they're getting for a subpar product. If the Irish were good, I'd say hooray for five more years. As it stands, this is like putting Florida State on national TV for five years. Who would welcome that?
posted by rcade at 02:11 PM on June 19, 2008
this is like putting Florida State on national TV for five years Assuming the US had a huge Seminole population with a chip on its shoulder, instead of a small Seminole population with a chip on its shoulder. Come to think of it, why are we such rivals?
posted by yerfatma at 02:37 PM on June 19, 2008
Very curious. I sorta-kinda like Notre Dame, but I've avoided watching them on TV the last decade or so because they've become average, sometimes not even that. I don't see the point anymore.
posted by aerotive at 02:41 PM on June 19, 2008
As it stands, this is like putting Florida State on national TV for five years. Who would welcome that? I resemble that remark. Anyway, FSU has not been winning national championships since 1999, but there have been no seasons anywhere near as bad as ND's season. ND is bad. FSU is average (not that anyone really wants to be average either.)
posted by bperk at 02:42 PM on June 19, 2008
The way I'm taking shots at accomplished though tarnished football programs, you wouldn't think I went to UNT. My alma mater's greatest football glory was achieved in the New Orleans Bowl.
posted by rcade at 02:44 PM on June 19, 2008
I was unfortunately subjected to NBC's coverage of the Irish two years ago when they played U-M and I must say the quality of the announcing matched the quality of Notre Dame's play. Considering they lost that game 41-14 that isn't saying much. The announcers were blatantly pro-Irish and were just poor announcers in general.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 03:20 PM on June 19, 2008
The announcers were blatantly pro-Irish and were just poor announcers in general. I don't disagree with you about the bias, but I would about the quality. You have to understand a couple of things: 1. They're basically hometown commentators. It'd be like watching the Tigers local broadcast and complaining the announcers seem to be rooting for Detroit. 2. They're tageting a much older audience than you. While they can and do talk strategy and things like that, much of the time is spent telling 'Grampy Stories" about great players, ghosts of Notre Dame's past.
posted by yerfatma at 03:33 PM on June 19, 2008
This totally sucks. The Irish have been awful for years, and it's a waste of air wave space to televise them like this. I have to believe that have their ratings are because there are still many households that do not have cable/direct TV. My father does not have cable, and he likes football, so some of the ND games will make it on to his TV because he won't have much of a choice. Though being from Ohio, he does love to cheer for whatever team is playing ND! On second thought, that's how they get their ratings...there are so many people watching hoping that they lose!
posted by dviking at 05:14 PM on June 19, 2008
I haven't liked ND ever since the coach dissed Rudy. 10 seconds of play in the last game of the season in his last year.
posted by irunfromclones at 06:01 PM on June 19, 2008
This is a blatant attempt from the city of South Bend to try and get a college football program started at Notre Lame.
posted by budman13 at 07:02 PM on June 19, 2008
The announcers were blatantly pro-Irish and were just poor announcers in general. Watch when there on any other network and see there all against Notre Dame.
posted by bigpimp311 at 07:08 PM on June 19, 2008
Bigpimp and all others, wait until the Irish play. They will try to swim but drown. Educated announcers will bring up the fact that they have not won anything in over ten years and will not do so in another twenty. Unless you count the soon to be "Eskimo Pie, Klondike Alaska Bowl". But then again the Irish wouldn't have the ability to win that one against anyone in the Top 20. That includes the teams Charlie Weiss wiretapped to even get the job which he is not capable to complete. Weiss (the big fat Walrus) got his job due to Spygate and Notre Dame idiot fans are eating it up. That is the best part. Fight On!
posted by MMAFighter/Coach at 09:04 PM on June 19, 2008
Golly gee! With a schedule that includes powerhouses like Air Force, Navy, Army and Stanford, how can Notre Dame's schedule not be considered among the toughest in the country? Kudos to NBC for being eagle-eyed enough to consider Notre Dame's killer schedule--should make for some thrilling fall afternoons for the next five years!
posted by jm_mosier at 08:43 AM on June 20, 2008
Notre Dame clearly has a very large fanbase among SpoFites.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 08:49 AM on June 20, 2008
I haven't liked ND ever since the coach dissed Rudy. 10 seconds of play in the last game of the season in his last year. Oh, that Rudy was such a fighter. How scrappy! Who knew he was a Hobbitt?
posted by THX-1138 at 02:04 PM on June 20, 2008
``We have scheduled teams who want to play us at off-site venues because it's great for their programs as well as ours,'' I hate the Irish. The fact that they use their popularity and tv deal to avoid playing real away games pisses me off.