Irish Blogger Gathering: Through the Past Darkly Edition

Welcome to another edition of the Irish Blogger Gathering! This week, it is brought to you by the Brawling Hibernian. And here are my answers - be forewarned, there is a lot of Brady Quinn love in here today.

1. In the parlance of DJs, a "deep cut" is a song that wasn't released as a single and, generally, is not well-known. Oftentimes, these end up being the best songs on the album. What Notre Dame victory is your favorite "deep-cut" from the Irish catalog? In other words, what is your favorite victory that is not widely celebrated (i.e., not the "Snow Bowl" or the 1988 Miami game, etc.). Explain in much detail.

Maybe because it was the last game I watched from the student section (even though I was no longer a student), or because it was Brady Quinn's last home game, or because it just seemed like things were on track for the Irish, but my favorite "deep cut" game is the Army game from 2006. The game itself was an easy victory, and a ton of fun to be at, but it was more memorable for me because of the hope it gave me that ND would beat USC the next week, and maybe, just maybe, get a shot at the National Championship. Sitting (or rather, standing) a few feet from Brady Quinn when he started the "Beat SC" chant only added to the hope that the game gave me, only to have that hope crushed the next weekend.

2. As much fun as it is rooting for our heroes, it can be just as enjoyable to trash those we consider villains. A few years ago, the great Irish blog, Blue-Gray Sky, wrote a post discussing the biggest villains in Irish history. That post focused on external villains. Today's question is, of those associated with the program, who is the biggest villain? This individual must have been a player, coach or administrator at ND who, through reckless acts of cowardice, stupidity or malice, damaged the football program. (Note: Ty Willingham is off the board)

I am jumping on the Kevin White bandwagon. The reasons are myriad (the extremely strange barnstorming choices for ND games, the football coach hiring and firing debacles, the selling off of the ND brand/jumbotron fear, the crap BCS deal, etc.), and not always entirely his fault.

However, in the end, these things were his responsibility. The state of ND football is not as good as it should be, and the blame for that falls squarely at his feet, because he was the man ultimately responsible for the state of athletics at ND. Kevin White was not a Notre Dame man, and I think it showed, in the way he failed to understand and act in the best interest of the football team.

3. Falling in love is a wonderful thing. As Lt. Frank Drebin once noted, "you begin to notice things you never knew were there before; birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf, stoplights." Descibe the moment you knew that there would be no other; you were in love with Notre Dame.

My initial thought was to answer the 2003 game against Florida State at Notre Dame during my first year of law school. I stayed in the stands until the end of that horrible, horrible showing by the Irish, enduring a typical late fall day in South Bend (complete with sun, rain, sleet, and snow!). Even as the stands around me emptied, I stood there with a friend, knowing that the Irish had no chance to come back and win the game, but dedicated to getting through the game at all costs.

However, after further thought, I realized that, although I knew I loved Notre Dame at this moment, I wasn't in love with Notre Dame yet (how's that for a girly statement?). To get to that stage, I had to live through more bad times, more good times, and a coaching change.

The moment I knew I was in love with Notre Dame came a year and a few months later, at the first Blue-Gold game of the Charlie Weis era. It was a day similar to the day of the Florida State game, except it seemed colder and there wasn't really any nice part of the day, unlike at the Florida State game. The game meant absolutely nothing, and one of my friends and I shivered under a blanket in the stands, watching a glorified scrimmage and loving every minute of it. It was at that moment - when I was willing, a week or two before finals, to sit outside in the freezing late spring cold to watch this new coach in the awful weather, at a meaningless game - that I knew I was in love with the Irish. I would not have suffered through this for any other team, and I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did.

4. Regrets, we've had a few but, then again, too few to ever let go of any of them. What game or specific play in Irish history turns your dreams into nightmares and haunts your every waking moment? Describe this torment and why you wish ND could have another crack at it?

Bush Push. I have never watched it since I saw it that day in the stadium (this involves a lot of eye shutting and plugging of the ears like a little child when it comes on television), yet it still haunts me. It is seared in my memory, never to be let go. I have already relived it for one of these posts, so I won't do it again (it's just awful for me to think about). The joy of ND getting another crack at this one would be that we all know the rule that governs this now, so I am sure the result would be different (and yes, I would take a better result, even if it came because of a penalty).

5. With 79 consensus All-Americans and 48 inductees in the College Football Hall of Fame, it is clear that there have been many great players in the history of Notre Dame football. What was the greatest single season from a player that you ever witnessed during your Irish fandom? Be specific. Use adjectives.

My ND fandom is not very long, and I am going with an obvious one here - Brady Quinn, 2005. The young man who showed up for the Pitt game to open that season was a changed young man from the year before. This new Brady Quinn looked like he owned Heinz Field, and the season just confirmed that he was for real, especially as he went on to own many more places. That it coincided with my last year at Notre Dame only helped make it an even more special year in my mind.