Taylor's Tidbits

Lack of Leadership is Costly

Mon, 9/17/07

I’m sitting in seat 11H on UA 943 on my way back from a long weekend in Ann Arbor, and an even longer start to the ’07 season.

I hadn’t even walked out of that cheap imitation of Notre Dame Stadium before the barrage of text messages started coming in:

Notre Lame. Notre Shame. Notre Don’t. No Defense. Charlie and Loss Factory.

And the dagger to my heart: The Fighting Amish.

Now, I’ve got a sense of humor like the next guy, and I fully support and celebrate the friendly rivalries that make up college football, but never in my life did I figure I’d have to repeatedly defend the toughness and desire of my alma mater.

I was embarrassed on Saturday. Not so much for myself, as I feel a pride and a kinship with Notre Dame that precludes me from taking the start to this season personally. Rather, I was embarrassed for those young men out there, and their head coach, who in his third year - as an alumnus no less – has to feel more sick than any of us could ever imagine.

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT:

There was something that both surprised and bothered me about Notre Dame’s performance versus Michigan. As the game wore on, I didn’t see anyone visibly bothered by what was taking place, aside from Coach Weis barking at the refs for some phantom calls gratuitously and frequently reserved for the home team. What I wanted to see was a player or players walking up and down the sideline firing up and supporting his teammates like I remember DT Chris Zorich doing. I would have felt different had I seen players yelling, shouting, grabbing, or even crying out of frustration…anything that said, “this bothers me.” I wanted to see a group of guys that, even though they knew they were outmanned, played with pride…because I don’t care what anyone says, -14 yards rushing ain’t just about being young.

To be clear, though, I hate “Rah! Rah!” guys with a passion, and there is a big difference between cheering to convince yourself that you’re part of the team, and genuinely believing in and supporting your teammates in the face of adversity. But I didn’t see either. It pains me to say it, but I actually walked off the field uncertain as to whether or not this team, so full of talent and potential, was even bothered by the way they played. Or worse, even knew that they should be. I’m not saying that it didn’t bother them, I’m just saying that I didn’t definitively see anything on or off the field that indicated otherwise.

OWNERSHIP OF TRADITION:

From my limited vantage point, it looked like something was missing out there. I saw no ownership or awareness from the players about the history and tradition of the most storied program of all time. Ownership like when RB Reggie Brooks heroically crossed the goal line semi-conscious after getting pin balled back and forth between Michigan defenders back in ‘92. Ownership like when TE Irv Smith single handedly carried the entire Indiana defense (and our offensive will) on his back as he defiantly scored a much-needed touchdown in the first game of the ‘91 season. Ownership like when QB Tony Rice gambled his million dollar smile by throwing upper cut after upper cut to the head of some fool from Miami who thought that it’d be OK to take a “short cut” through ND’s stretching lines in pre-game. To me, that’s what ownership and awareness of tradition looks like, and I just haven’t seen it out of this young team yet. For now, I’ll assume that that will quickly change, and in the meantime, I’ll continue to support the entire Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team without hesitation.