5 Toughest Things About Being A Notre Dame Fan

Getting a ticket for a home game in South Bend directly from the University is a harder task than being Charlie Weis’ dietitian. Every game in South Bend has been sold out since the school decided to play on Thanksgiving day in 1973. Alumni who donate money to the school get preference for tickets but even then, they are not guaranteed due to the lottery system the University uses. Alumni who don’t donate money have a much harder time finding tickets. According to TiqIQ, the average ticket for a Notre Dame game this season is $ 264 from secondary outlets and that figure was calculated before the season began.

Irish fans hate being called overrated because of what happened in 1993. The only reason that Notre Dame hasn’t won a National Title since 1988 is because they got absolutely hosed in the final polls in 1993. Notre Dame beat Florida State in the “Game of The Century” 31-24 but lost to Boston College (who finished No. 13 in the polls) the next week on a last second field goal. Florida State beat an 11-0 Nebraska team in the Orange Bowl and the Irish beat a 10-1 Texas A&M team. Both Notre Dame and FSU finished with 1 loss and Notre Dame beat FSU but inexplicably the Seminoles were crowned National Champs.

An excuse often used by Bob Davie as to why it is so difficult to win at Notre Dame is that the school will not accept the most talented players into the school. Randy Moss wanted to play for Lou Holtz, but the administration didn't accept him. Many talented recruits are not admitted to the school because of the rigorous requirements. According to U.S.News, Notre Dame comes in at No. 16 in the National Universities Rankings. The only other school ranked in the football top 25 polls currently comes in at No. 23 in the National Universities Ranking which is UCLA. Notre Dame is also one of the few schools that doesn’t have junior college transfers on their football roster.

While Notre Dame is clearly the most popular brand in college football, they are also the most hated. Other fans hate that Notre Dame is on national TV every week, gets better treatment in bowl selections and their fans brag about having top notch academics to go along with a rich tradition of winning. Ohio State and Michigan fans hate when Notre Dame plays bad teams like Syracuse, ABC picks it up for the primetime game of the week. SEC fans hate that when Notre Dame will play Navy on the road this year, CBS made it a primetime matchup instead of Florida vs. Georgia or another SEC game. Just like the Yankees in baseball, either you love Notre Dame or you hate them. Very few are neutral when it comes to the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame is currently ranked first among college football teams in all time winning percentage, just barely ahead of Michigan. Notre Dame also has 11 national championships, but the Irish haven’t captured a title since 1988 during Lou Holtz’s third year. After Holtz left following the 1996 season, Bob Davie took a top 10 program into the dumpster. Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis both won coach of the year awards in their first seasons but turned out to be terrible coaches even after they left South Bend. Irish fans that endured the Davie, Willingham and Weis era heard an earful from opposing fans and rightfully so during that time period.