Recently, there has been much discussion of The Shirt 2005 and the problems with its radically new design. The golden yellow is very similar to Michigan and Boston College. The quote on the back seems a bit "sappy" for a football slogan. These concerns are well founded. However, these issues are only on the surface; The Shirt is anything but a shallow display.From its origin 16 years ago, The Shirt has stood for the unity and brotherhood of the student body, who come together for a common cause. This belief has continued over the course of The Shirt's existence, whether the cause is a football game or not. The student body of Notre Dame is united time and time again. A shirt's color has nothing to do with this. Also, a color will not make us a copy of another school. Compared to our rivals, we could not be any more distinct. As the premier Catholic university in the United States, Notre Dame displays its own uniqueness in all of its dealings. We are not Michigan, and we are most certainly not Boston College. We are ND, as The Shirt 2004 says so clearly - and that message would be just the same in any color, not just green.Touching on the quote on the back, "If you could find a way to bottle the Notre Dame spirit, you could light up the universe," Joe Theismann said this when asked about the spirit of the university. Who better than one of the great Irish quarterbacks to describe the power, the aura, the spirit of the University of Notre Dame? The quote, like The Shirt itself, symbolizes much more than a football season; it embodies the essence of Notre Dame itself. Now, some may paraphrase Happy Gilmore and say, "Gold shirt, green shirt ... Who gives a damn?" Yet considering all that The Shirt says about the University of Notre Dame and its student body, its message is proven true. "The Spirit Lives" not in The Shirt, but in each of us. Support our school by supporting The Shirt.
Rob Lindley, Jr.freshmanKeough hallApril 25
