Over the last few days, several students have written to The Observer expressing their disappointment in the student section's behavior at the Michigan game. We share this disappointment. We are disappointed that the student section blindly cheers on the football team regardless of what is happening on the field. We were some of the seniors that left early and are some of the most fervent Notre Dame fans in the world. We could no longer stand to watch our beloved squad being dragged all over the field. We follow our team all year, give 100 percent at every home game and travel to several away games to cheer our team "onward to victory". We don't simply go to have fun, hear the band play and partake in tradition. Winning is what football is all about. Winning is fun. And winning, at Notre Dame is tradition. We wear "The Shirt" proudly with "TRADITION" across our chests. There are a few coaches missing from the back of that shirt - Gerry Faust, Bob Davie and Ty Willingham - coaches who did not uphold the tradition of winning.
Notre Dame is the nation's most followed football team not because of golden helmets or a great fight song, but because we have traditionally been the best team in the land. Whenever we lose as badly as we did Saturday, we violate that tradition. We have all witnessed some "untraditionally" bad losses throughout our time at Notre Dame. We were all at the 37-0 Florida State thrashing freshman year. We all walked out early. Not a single one of us regrets doing so. We were embarrassed that the tradition of Notre Dame Football was not upheld on the field. We were embarrassed on Saturday, and we know the players felt the same way.
The way we love Notre Dame Football is very similar to the way many of our parents love us. If one of us were ever to come home with a report card littered with Fs, our parents would not applaud our failures and do a jig around the house. We will not stay and cheer with smiling faces during a beat-down. We need to remember that 80,000 people pack Notre Dame Stadium every week to watch their team win. Winning is what football is all about. Ask Charlie Weis.
Tom Bradley
Ricky Moreno
Tom Dobleman
Rick King
Kenny Cushing
seniors
off-campus
Sept. 20
