An absolutely dominant word. Nemesis. What does it mean? Well, two of the definitions are; 1. Archenemy, and 2. punishment or defeat that is deserved and cannot be avoided. These are strong definitions that fit in context with the ND Football program very well. Because we have them. But, we may not have them for very long…at least the redheaded step-child kind anyways.
(Hardcore disclaimer: This is not an entirely new thought. Lou Somogyi first wrote about this, and it was just discussed briefly on Blue And Gold Radio. These are my 2 cents.)
It has been put forth that the following recent coaches of ND had these Nemesis’ and the results of those games had a huge impact on them being out of a job in South Bend.
- Gerry Faust and the Falcons of Air Force
- Bob Davie and the Spartans of Michigan State
- Ty Willingham and the Eagles of Boston College
Gerry Faust was 1-4 against AFA. Nuff said.
Bob Davie went an incredible 0-5 versus Michigan State. I still have nightmares of this series. I keep telling myself that this stretch of mediocrity didn’t happen. I was in a pretty sweet drug and alcohol-induced haze during Bob’s run with ND, so the details of most of these hideous displays of footbaww are sketchy. We always made MSU look like a real contender in the first half of the season, only to watch them be…well, Michigan State. But was this his Nemesis? Let’s see…
- Lose to Archenemy no less than 3 years in a row…..check.
- Were the losses justified as payback? Maybe Holtz’s ass kickings had something to do with this. Karma is a motherf’er.
Ty “the molder of men” Willingham went 0-2 versus Boston College. THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!!! Did I make myself clear enough? Two of the most gut-wrenching losses I have ever known. The first was a drive to ND from Ohio and then back again on gameday, because we were dumped on by the Ticket gods. Made it back home in time to see Dillingham (only time ever will he be mentioned here on this blog) hand the ball off to B.C. , literally. Then season 2 I was locked up and lost a bet… I will not disclose any other info. B.C.!!! Give me a flipping break. Nemesis
- Lose to Archenemy 3 years in a row… well if his ass wasn’t fired and we played them in 2006, you can bet your sweet ass we would have lost…check.
- Justifiable? No the ’93 game was all the justice B.C. should have been allowed on the earlier beatdowns. But… with Ty as the Head Coach, losing to B.C. was unavoidable…CHECK.
So why talk about these ass-clowns now? Well, this is just your reminder that ND is on its way to the top again. Weis will not lose to these mediocre teams on a consistent basis as his predecessors had done. Weis’s Nemesis is USC. The way it should be, and I see a change in that for the future, as we become the Nemesis of Troy. Weis has brought back that Holtz feel to the program and will take his rightful place as the successor of the name “Great Notre Dame Football Coach”.
Just a little something to make you put out a fistpump and yell “fuck yes!”. Need some more? Check out our commitment list for 2008-That’s a double fistpump.
