Aaron Lynch will be transferring away from Notre Dame following the spring semester. A 10 AM press conference was announced and Brian Kelly, very bluntly, told the media that Aaron had “quit the football team.” 

Immediately, the phrase “shooting bottle rockets at the moon” came to mind. I’m not sure if I heard that somewhere before, or if it was just one of those epiphanies that came in the heat of the moment. At any rate, it means that you are trying to reach a large goal, but are using some of the weakest tools to do so. In a nutshell, this is what Notre Dame football has been doing for over 20 years. 

Yes, we can apply it to many things abut the program, but for today it is for Aaron Lynch. Lynch was an absolute animal on the field in almost every sense of the word. He, reportedly, was also an animal off of the field as well. This is one of our moons. Players like Lynch are huge goals for a program like Notre Dame to achieve, and despite being at Notre Dame for a year; they couldn’t hit that goal. They used bottle rockets, because that was all that they had. To some; great academics, a historic tradition, early playing time, national exposure, etcetera are missiles, but not for Lynch. His heart was somewhere else.

This is the great dilemma for Notre Dame. When the entire world is offering personalized missiles, Notre Dame stands high on a pedestal with a handful of bottle rockets. How can this program overcome and move forward? How can they reach the moon? The “when” is immaterial at this point. It’s the “how” that needs to be figured out first.

Why all the dramatic undertones with this post? Because it just seems to be one negative story after another for Notre Dame. As they say, “the hits keep coming.” Singularly, this stuff is typical, but after a series of hits it is a powerful blow. 

There is no doubt that the Irish will miss Lynch on the field, but for the first time in many years, I can honestly say that the defensive line has enough quality depth to absorb this kind of hit. Look for an increased role by Ishaq Williams, and a greater use of the line rotation with Nix, KLM, Schwenke, Hounshell, Tuitt, and even Shembo. It will take some effort, but this unit seems up to the task.

Now for some fun. If you are able to mentally grasp the stark realities of Notre Dame football and still have not jumped off of that ledge… perhaps you would like to join me and my friends as we lean on eachother during these dark times using dark humor and all manner of bullshit. Here is a taste of what happened today with the Aaron Lynch saga as we shoot our own bottle rockets at the situation:

Shooting Bottle Rockets At The Moon: The Aaron Lynch Saga

Storified by The Subway Domer · Fri, Apr 13 2012 18:55:50

Editor’s Note: All tweets shown above will be counted towards the ongoing Twittermania battle on Subway Domer. Totals will be adjusted in next weeks segment.