This one will be short and sweet. Stop changing the color of "The Shirt" every year. Keep it kelly-green permanently (similar to the color the students wear to the basketball games), not only for the obvious reasons that we are the "Irish" and our coach is named "Kelly," but so that all Notre Dame fans can finally have a uniform color to wear to the games, rather than some wearing blue, some gold, some green (including different shades of the same), or even white and, more recently, with the student section wearing a shade of yellow or even tan. Having a uniform fan color will also allow alumni to invest in kelly-green-colored coats or jerseys, which they will obviously need for the cold-weather games. We simply can't expect alumni to go out and purchase new coats or jerseys each year, just so they can be sure to match the ever-changing color of The Shirt.
And I don't want to hear that I am suggesting we eliminate the creativity of The Shirt. No one outside of the Notre Dame community thinks we are being creative by changing the color of The Shirt each year. More importantly, The Shirt Committee will still have responsibility for determining what is written on the front and back of The Shirt each year, so it's not like we will have abrogated them of all responsibility. (Although I personally think The Shirt Committee has just about run out of clever things to pen on The Shirt each year.)
Let's get a uniform kelly-green color going in the stands so that visiting teams know that they are playing at Notre Dame Stadium and so that, when the team hits the road, the football team will be able to easily identify the bright kelly-green color of "the Notre Dame section" in the stands, to know that their loyal fans are there to cheer them on.
Please have kelly-green-colored Shirts there for us to purchase at the Spring Game. Please.
Jim Blase
alumnus
Law School class of 1981
Jan. 24
