Good vs. Evil?

Hello All,

Alright, I have been trying to figure out what to write about this matchup for a few weeks now.

I mean, this is Notre Dame. Aside from the obvious (Florida, Florida State, Virginia Tech) there is no one I hate more in the country than Notre Dame.

I hate their “holier than thou” aura.

I hate that they get a different set of rules than everybody else.

I hate that they still are considered “elite” even though they have not won anything since the days of Rocket Ismail. And I know, if you are under the age of 25 you probably did not get that reference.

I hate that they labeled our rivalry “Catholics vs. Convicts”. I hate it even more that the media ran with it. If Miami labeled our matchup against UiF as “Graduates vs. Pizza Delivery Men”…how do you think the media would like it?

I hate that the refs screwed us out of the 1988 National Title in the infamous game I just referred to.

I hate their uniforms.

I hate touchdown Jesus.

And yet, I still find myself a little underwhelmed by this matchup. Maybe it is because of all the turmoil around the Canes right now. Maybe it is because we are finally getting another crack at these wussies…and it is in the freakin’ Sun Bowl.

Regardless, it has been hard to write about.

I have recently been reading a book called “Perfect Rivals: Miami vs. Notre Dame”.

It labeled the series played in the 1980’s as a battle for the soul of college football.

This rivalry really did tell the perfect story, and reminds me now why I am so invested in my hatred for Notre Dame even though I wasn’t old enough to have any clue what was going on while these games were played.

Notre Dame is part of the “royalty” of college football. Always have been. They’re the ones with the gold dust in the paint for their helmets. They’re the program of “Rudy” and a zillion Heisman Trophies and a bunch of national titles back before integration.

They are everything that every young man growing up in America is supposed to want to be a part of.

And then there is Miami. Thug U, filled with black guys who should have been left in the street to rob people instead of given a chance to share the field with the all powerful Fighting Irish.

Miami is the underdog story. Only this is the underdog story that kept going. The charm wore off and everybody was left to deal with the fact that these guys who weren’t supposed to be here in the first place had crashed the party for good. Not only that, but they just went into the bedroom with the host’s girlfriend.

This is what frames this rivalry. It is bigger than the current teams. This game is not about who takes the field Friday. It is about everyone that has taken the field before them. It is about the ghosts in the smoke of the Miami tunnel and about playing for the pride of the U on your helmet.

This is the ultimate battle of good vs. evil.

Only the good and the evil are not who you might think.

Notre Dame is bad in the same way that Cobra Kai and the Yankees are bad, only not nearly as successful.

They get every break. They get every call. A kid dies taping their practice and the administration is found to be negligent? Story dies the next day. A girl from a sister school accuses a player of rape? You hardly hear about it. That’s Notre Dame, all that is right about college football.

They’re the guy at the party that roofies a girl and then gets their rich mom and dad to make the charge go away. And then probably has the cop fired for even bringing it up.

Now let’s flip it around.

Even when Miami was at their “worst”, the peak of “Thug U”, the greatest empire since the Roman, they graduated their football players. These were not the thugs they were made out to be.

Those guys have gone on to become very successful businessmen, lawyers, educators and civil servants. Does that story get told? No.

What gets told is how bad their attitude was. The attitude of “just win baby”.

Another thing that isn’t told? Notre Dame, with all the advantages, all the calls, all the homerism and all the protection, had the same mantra. Miami was just better at it.

And that’s why I am still pumped for this game, even with its diminished meaning. I would love for this to be a national title game. But it isn’t. I would love for it to have more national stature. But it doesn’t.

What it does have is Miami and Notre Dame.

It has all the pent up hostility of twenty years. It is a chance to drudge up all those bad feelings from all those years ago and put it toward cheering like hell for your team. All the media miscasting and stereotyping and another chance to throw it in their effing face.

And a chance for Miami to play the villain again.

I hope we embrace it like we used to.

It’s fun to be the bad guy, especially when you know you’re better than the good guy.

Clear eyes, full hearts, Go ‘Canes.

And always guard the inbound passer.

Sidenote: I have been weighing getting a tattoo for a few years now. I have always known if I got anything, it would be the ‘II__II”, probably between the shoulder blades. It’s the only thing besides my family that I really care that deeply about. Anyway, I have decided that after going through a stretch like the last few seasons and not seeing my fire for the ‘Canes go out, it is time to do it; I have put it on my New Year’s Resolutions list. I feel like it is a fitting tribute to the ‘Canes. After all, don’t all the bad guys have tattoos?

The reason I bring it up is to gather any strong feedback one way or the other. Let me know if you have any.