SIAP, but I have to trot out one of the greatest Irish tantrums of all time---from a ND student *journalist* after Purdue beat Notre Dame 23-21 in Ross-Ade in September 1999. It originally appeared in the ND student paper. (Full disclosure, I believe I read somewhere that the author later apologized, for what it's worth):
They're not ND
Erin Piroutek
I don't want to talk about the game. I don't want to rehash botched calls, questionable play-calling, or stupid mistakes. I don't want to think about the "if-only's." It's too painful. Let me mourn in peace.
Still, the trip to West Lafayette was a valuable learning experience. It made me thoroughly appreciate being a Domer.
The corn should have been my first clue that something was amiss. We took the first exit that said Purdue, anticipating the sight of the stadium ready to accommodate screaming Irish fans. Instead, we found ... corn. For several miles we drove on a two-lane road winding through cornfield upon cornfield.
Thanks to backed-up traffic, we had several hours to appreciate the corn.
Finally we made it to campus ("I thought I'd seen ugly buildings before — but now I realize I was wrong," said my roommate) and into the stadium.
But the reasons to count my blessings had just begun. Anytime there are more cheerleaders than football players, well, there's something inherently wrong. You may think I'm kidding. But I'm dead serious.
Start with the 10 girls and 10 guys, who I assume were the varsity cheerleaders. Add 10 more of each who I think were the JV cheerleaders. That's 40. Then consider the 16 flag girls and eight baton twirlers. We're up to 64. But that's not all. Count the 32 pom girls, even though I couldn't quite discern their purpose, and that brings us to a grand total of 96 cheerleaders.
And you might think there's nothing wrong with this. Spirit is good, right? Well, maybe I could excuse it if there was any spirit in the Purdue stadium. But there wasn't.
Our 12 cheerleaders are able to make the entire stadium resonate with the sounds of "We are Notre Dame." The Purdue stadium resonated with ... random noise every once in awhile when Purdue had a good play.
After an entire game in Ross-Ade Stadium, with the Purdue fans just two rows behind me, I have no idea what their fight song sounds like. They never sang it. I think the band played it every so often, but I'm not even sure about that, since we couldn't really hear the band.
Maybe we're spoiled, since when our band plays the sound resonates through campus. Even in the broadcast of the Michigan game, the Irish band could be heard loud and clear in the Big House. But I don't think it's too much to ask for a band to at least play loud enough that those sitting in the stadium can hear it. It's not like the sounds of the crowd were drowning it out.
Even the individual fans were a disappointment. The ubiquitous presence of "The Shirt" confused and befuddled them. One fan sneered, "What, did they give those shirts out for free or something?" I guess the concept of Irish unity is too much for them to grasp. Understandable I guess, since Boilermaker unity is nonexistent.
As we were heading back to our car, a Purdue student shouted insults at us from his dorm window. At this point, someone who would attack two girls while hiding in the safety of his dorm didn't even surprise me.
We walked away with our heads held high. After all, we are ND. And we don't have to spend the rest of our college careers at Purdue.
Taken from Boiled Sports
They're not ND
Erin Piroutek
I don't want to talk about the game. I don't want to rehash botched calls, questionable play-calling, or stupid mistakes. I don't want to think about the "if-only's." It's too painful. Let me mourn in peace.
Still, the trip to West Lafayette was a valuable learning experience. It made me thoroughly appreciate being a Domer.
The corn should have been my first clue that something was amiss. We took the first exit that said Purdue, anticipating the sight of the stadium ready to accommodate screaming Irish fans. Instead, we found ... corn. For several miles we drove on a two-lane road winding through cornfield upon cornfield.
Thanks to backed-up traffic, we had several hours to appreciate the corn.
Finally we made it to campus ("I thought I'd seen ugly buildings before — but now I realize I was wrong," said my roommate) and into the stadium.
But the reasons to count my blessings had just begun. Anytime there are more cheerleaders than football players, well, there's something inherently wrong. You may think I'm kidding. But I'm dead serious.
Start with the 10 girls and 10 guys, who I assume were the varsity cheerleaders. Add 10 more of each who I think were the JV cheerleaders. That's 40. Then consider the 16 flag girls and eight baton twirlers. We're up to 64. But that's not all. Count the 32 pom girls, even though I couldn't quite discern their purpose, and that brings us to a grand total of 96 cheerleaders.
And you might think there's nothing wrong with this. Spirit is good, right? Well, maybe I could excuse it if there was any spirit in the Purdue stadium. But there wasn't.
Our 12 cheerleaders are able to make the entire stadium resonate with the sounds of "We are Notre Dame." The Purdue stadium resonated with ... random noise every once in awhile when Purdue had a good play.
After an entire game in Ross-Ade Stadium, with the Purdue fans just two rows behind me, I have no idea what their fight song sounds like. They never sang it. I think the band played it every so often, but I'm not even sure about that, since we couldn't really hear the band.
Maybe we're spoiled, since when our band plays the sound resonates through campus. Even in the broadcast of the Michigan game, the Irish band could be heard loud and clear in the Big House. But I don't think it's too much to ask for a band to at least play loud enough that those sitting in the stadium can hear it. It's not like the sounds of the crowd were drowning it out.
Even the individual fans were a disappointment. The ubiquitous presence of "The Shirt" confused and befuddled them. One fan sneered, "What, did they give those shirts out for free or something?" I guess the concept of Irish unity is too much for them to grasp. Understandable I guess, since Boilermaker unity is nonexistent.
As we were heading back to our car, a Purdue student shouted insults at us from his dorm window. At this point, someone who would attack two girls while hiding in the safety of his dorm didn't even surprise me.
We walked away with our heads held high. After all, we are ND. And we don't have to spend the rest of our college careers at Purdue.
Taken from Boiled Sports
