Welcome to Bagpipe Monday! This post kicks off the the week in which, COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS OFFICIALLY BACK!!!!! Yes, the first game of the season in still 33 days away, but the team starts camp and its first practice is this Saturday. This is the time of the harvest. The time of the drunken orgies of pigskin… and so on, and so on.
It is in that spirit, that I kickoff this season with some opening thoughts. This summer has been fairly busy for your Emperor, and because of that, I have been unable to fully express some of those thoughts, ideas, and whatever else has crept into my mind.
I think we will just do this in bulletpoint form for the safety of all involved.
- I have a slight problem in the area of “expectations.” Not with the expectations by the team and by the country, which are quite high- even amongst the traditional Notre Dame haters, but with those Irish fans that are running from those expectations. You know the ones. No matter where ND may be ranked to start the season, these “fans” openly hope that ND isn’t ranked too high. They would rather see the Fighting Irish ranked somewhere around 23- or whatever fucked up spot that pull out of their ass. It is their opinion that this would not just better serve the Irish- but the perception of the team if they lose. ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE? Obviously. This is Notre Dame. The goal every year, is to win a national title. As crazy as that sounds, it is what it is. If you don’t like it, go cheer for Iowa, or Oregon State, or Virginia Tech, or whoever else has lesser expectations and lesser goals for themselves. You want to be as HIGH as you can be for as LONG as you can be. Pussies.
- Fuck the Chicago-Tribune. YUP! H2OH your so fucking lame. Haugh and Hamilton have an agenda, and basically, their list of articles on the Irish is now worthy enough to stand by themselves as Bleacher Report posts. Out of a morbid curiosity, I read the most recent couple of articles from Hamilton. The first was a generic interview with Kirk Herbstreit on how ND’s defense has to step it up to be good. Are you serious? No shit Sherlock. Brilliant analysis by Kirk, and awesome reporting by the ND beat writer to interview a national talking head. The second article stated how easy Kelly has it compared to the previous coaching staffs in regards to recruiting and the ability to monitor his program without a ton of Residence Life interference. While the article had a valid point, it was the smug cheapshots at Kelly and ND as a whole that had me wanting to powerbomb this asshole. For many reasons, the Chicago Tribune is dying. It’s time to start shoveling the dirt on their coffin, and avoid them at all costs. Notre Dame is refusing to cooperate with the Tribune, and you can’t blame them after the witch hunts Hamilton and Haugh have started.
- So, the entire coaching staff is back? Is that right? No “I’m the defensive coordinator with input from the defensive backs coach on my ass?” Hmm… something is strangely unfamiliar about all of this. Above ALL else; the QB situation, Floyd, 19 returning starters… whatever it may be, the fact that the entire staff is back to continue to implement the same system as the year before is crucial. Recruiting may be an inexact science, but there is no way that ND can have all of these top 10 recruiting classes over the past 5 years and not have a lot of talent. The problem has been development, and part of that problem has been the instability of the coaching staffs and their incompetence when it comes to player development. Guys would be on the same level as a senior as they were as a freshman under Weis. Watch for insane improvement across the board with this team.
We will just leave it at that. Subway Domer is now officially in helmets and pads for the season. The Irish Blogger Gathering will be back, and everyone is ready to start headbutting everything in sight.
Don’t forget to vote in this weeks poll, and as always… enjoy the pipes!
