Irish Blogger Gathering: Better Late Than Never Edition

So, I am hosting this week's Irish Blogger Gathering, and yet I still can't get my act together to post until Friday. I just can't seem to get myself motivated about this team any longer - and I think that will be reflected in my answers.

So, without further ado, the questions:

1. The Pitt loss: give me something good about it, something bad about it, and something ugly about it.

Something good: I had fun in Pittsburgh. Other than the game, I mean. That part sucked.

Something bad: The game.

Something ugly: The game. (Hey, I didn’t say that these had to be different things)

2. UConn this week. Does the sellout streak end? Do you care if it does end? And if it does, does this have any meaning beyond it being the end of yet another ND streak during the Charlie Weis era?

I think the streak ends. And I kind of do care, even though it is something that should be meaningless. This is a team that people wait their whole lives to see just once at Notre Dame Stadium. There should never be any doubt about the stadium selling out legitimately, and there should never be a game that someone attending Notre Dame Stadium for that one time in their life should think is sub-par. Yet, with the asinine scheduling of opponents and the lack of quality on the part of Notre Dame recently, that is exactly what has happened.

3. UConn is coming off of a bye week, with three losses just before that, including close losses to West Virginia and Cincinnati. The last time they won was just before cornerback Jaspar Howard was killed. These factors - along with ND's sorry performances recently - suggest to me that UConn is a dangerous team for a Notre Dame team that could really use a win going into Stanford. Should I be worried about this game? And what should I be worried about?

I am worried. Frankly, if we were playing Washington State this weekend, I would be worried. It is not so much about Uconn for me, but about Notre Dame. They just don’t seem to show up until it is almost too late, or too late, in the game. Put that together with a team that is desperate for a win, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

4. Notre Dame will be seeing a familiar face in UConn quarterback Zach Frazer. Is there anyone who transferred out of Notre Dame, or who the Irish nearly got in the recruiting process, that you think would have made a significant difference on this year's team?

I don’t think that there is one particular player that would have put Notre Dame over the top. However, I do find myself regularly wondering whether a few more guys on the defensive side of the ball in those early classes would be the difference between us still referring to Charlie as a genius, and us referring to him as a former coach.

5. I, for one, was very optimistic at the beginning of the season. Now, at 6-4, I am nearly disgusted with this team, and I admit to some actions regarding Notre Dame football that I never thought I would engage in. I can't imagine I am alone. Have you done anything this season - turn off games at halftime, leave early, not watch at all, etc. - that smack of desperation and disgust with this team?

This weekend, I am doing something unthinkable - I am not only not going to the game at home, but I am choosing to go to another football game entirely (Wisconsin vs. Northwestern). And, this is the part that makes it even worse - the games are at the same time, so I won’t even watch the Notre Dame game until I get home on Sunday and watch it on TiVo. And you know what? I am perfectly fine with this decision. I never thought I would get here, but here I am.

And I never want to be here again.

The Other IBG Posts:

One Foot Down

Domer Law Blog