I would like to thank my friend Neil (http://domerlaw.blogspot.com/) for providing me with the insperation to write this article. We were at the bar talking football as usual, and the topic of who are the elite teams in college football came up. He, being a big Notre Dame football fan, believes that the Irish are the elite of the elite (correct me if i'm wrong). It would take a long time for them to fall from grace. The rest of the list was made up of the likes of Alabama, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, and Oklahoma. Nebraska & Penn St. were border line second teir/elite. And that is where the fun began.
No offense to all my Notre Dame friends, I just dont beleive that Notre Dame is an elite football program (keep reading, dont get mad, just wait until you get done to form any opinions). Don't get me wrong, I am a football enthusiast. I completely understand that if you talk about college football you HAVE TO talk about Notre Dame at some point. They have 11 championships for goodness sake ( alot of fans believe they got robbed out of a 12th but i'll leave it up to them to explain that one in their blogs). They have a great fan base (even though I think the years of mediocrity are starting to wear on them). But, how long can you ride your tradition? They haven't truly been in the hunt for a crystal ball for a long time. I understand Irish fans believe they were in contention in 05 & 06 but they really weren't. And how about Michigan? Why are they still considered an elite program?
I was trying to make the case for the FLA schools, LSU, and others. How is it that, as much as I dislike them and their coach, the University of Florida is not considered an elite program? 2 championships in the last 4 years. They had 6 SEC championships in the 90's. What would it take to get them to that status? I just couldn't understsand some of the reasoning behind some teams being ommited from the list and why some were being left on.
I went home and started talking to my wife. She by no means is a football fan but she is very intelligent with her opinions. She loves music so I put it in terms of music. I asked her if you have an artist who had #1 albums for a 20 year span, but for the last 10-15 their albums didn't even hit platnum (1,000,000 copies. The standard for the music industry); would they still be considered elite? Her respose is what got my mind churning. She said you can have a really awesome artist. But to be truly elite you have to change the industry completely(ie. James Brown,Elvis,Michael JAckson). But my thinking is that those guys are legendary/iconic............ah ha!
My definition of elite and iconic are different. This is where ND comes back into play. I believe they are iconic. They are a legendary school. But....they are currently not elite right now. Their play on the field recently does not warrant them being considered elite. USC, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State. Those schools right now are the elite schools in NCAA right now.
Even if I concede your definition of elite vs. iconic, I believe Notre Dame is still elite.
ReplyDeleteIf elite only means "won a championship in the last decade," then your list is fine. But in defense of Florida, you also mentioned SEC championships. And you can't just ignore BCS appearances.
During our discussion, you conceded that if Notre Dame doesn't lose to USC on the Bush Push in '05, they would have been in the National Title game. They played in back-to-back BCS games in '05 and '06, as well as another BCS appearance in '01. They did lose all 3 appearances.
Georgia and Texas have also appeared in only 3 BCS games (2-1, 3-0 respectively). Oklahoma has appeared in 7, but has gone 2-5 in those games.
So, is Notre Dame still not "elite'?
I am a Notre Dame fan. I like your little blog, it's very concise and to the point without trying to be too witty. "Trying" is the key word there. I just feel that some blog writers feel the need to insert clever one-liners, and while amusing, doesn't get to the point. Very good job, and keep it up!
ReplyDelete-Franco
I think coach Weis is waking up the echoes in South Bend.. Once ND kicks the 'cheaters' ,the dirty players....who like pull up grass and shove it in your face..out of # 1 BCS contention.. USC will no longer be "elite"
ReplyDelete