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Dear Notre Dame,

I'm a season ticket holder.  I have supported the Irish since birth.  I haven't had the chance to witness a Notre Dame national championship, and I have always expected to.  Whenever I mention Notre Dame, my heart lights up.  I take great pride in being an Irish fan and being a season ticket holder.  But today, I have nothing good to say about you.

At 3:30 today, I turned on my TV expecting to watch a good game between two programs with a string of bad luck and breaks.  I didn't expect this.  Currently, Michigan is up by 38.  I started today off with a Jerome Bettis jersey on accompanied by a pair of Notre Dame basketball shorts.  Since then, I have changed into a pair of Pacers shorts and an ESPN the Weekend shirt.  As many of my friends would tell you, I'm never shy about wearing my Notre Dame jerseys or shirts.  I wore one after each of their previous losses.  Expect these jerseys to be retired for a while.  You have been as bad as any college football team in recent history.

As a Notre Dame fan, I always have high expectations.  You guys have really stopped that.  I'm just going to have to pray that you can win a game this year.  You have -47 rushing yards.  All you have to do is throw the ball and not get sacked.  Too bad for Clausen, that takes more than .1 seconds, the approximate amount of time before Clausen is sacked.  Clausen is 11-14 this game.  He isn't the problem.  It's you, Kevin White.  It's you Charlie Weis.  Out of any school in the nation, You will always gets recruits for being Notre Dame.  That is about to end.

It's a scary thought.  You are done.  Any Notre Dame fan who believes that Notre Dame will contend again is fooling themselves.  You guys are just going to end up like Army, Navy, and all of the other former powers.  It's just too hard.  With your academic standards, their location, and the recent lack of success, no recruits will want to go there.  2005 should be a cherished memory for Notre Dame fans.  It's the closest we will ever get.

I've been Mr. Optimistic for this season.  I can't look at this game optimistically.  I am truly embarrassed to be a fan of you guys.  I love Notre Dame with a passion.  I would seriously like to find a fan of another team my age who is as into them as I am into you guys.  My family spends thousands of dollars on you.  This is how you repay us.

Charlie Weis is over.  The honeymoon is over.  He can slip up a few times at first, but now he has to perform.  The third year at Notre Dame separates the Rocknes from Fausts.  The Parseghians from the Brennans.  It looks like Charlie will be the third bum head coach.  He was supposed to bring a nasty outlook on the team.  He has just ended up making this team nasty.  He can't teach them how to block.  Clausen has no time.  He's too good to play for you.  It's sad but true.  You guys get way too many penalties.  That's from a lack of discipline.

I may not be a football genius, but I should be able to coach better than Charlie.  It's sad how much you guys invested in him.  They gave him a contract extension just so he wouldn't go to the pros.  Now high school looks like his only option.  What a shame to see how the great have fallen.  Instead of wondering who the next big recruit is or what bowl we will be in, Notre Dame nation will be wondering who will be the next head coach and when we will win a game.  No game is guaranteed this season.  An optimist's outlook should be 2-10 at most.

This is by far the worst Notre Dame team in history.  You guys have crushed some dreams.  Dreams of Notre Dame returning to glory.  Dreams of national championships.  Now the only logical dream would be you all winning a bowl game.

It's a sad day in Notre Dame nation.  As I turn back on the game, I see that Clausen is on the bench, and the scrubs are in.  Scratch that.  The scrubs have played the whole game.  I could write for hours on why I am dissapointed in you all.  The head coach has turned out to be the dud.  All expectations are gone.  Notre Dame fans just need to watch and wait.

You all are a disgrace.  I've tried to be nice in this letter, but I can't hold it in anymore.  Knute Rockne established the precedent.  Win.  It's not that hard.  Eleven national championship banners hang in Notre Dame Stadium.  There will be no more.  I will always have the season tickets, but I will never expect anything great.  Maybe some pro prospects.  Maybe a good run every five or ten years, but that's it.  If I'm not wearing my Notre Dame clothing while the game is on, there is trouble.  If Temple has been better than you, you have trouble.  If during my entire football career, I have more rushing yards than you guys, and I played defensive line, there is trouble.  This team is in trouble.  Here's to better days. 

Days of Raghib Ismail.  Days of "Win One for the Gipper".  Days of Rudy.  Days of Rockne.  Days of the Four Horsemen.  Now the only days left are days of mediocrity and embarrassment.  So let's hang on to our 1988 National Championship shirts and our Four Horsemen banners.  That's all we Notre Dame fans have got.

Sincerely, Notre Dame's biggest fan: Sam Francis.

September 15, 2007  06:25 PM ET

You sound upset about something.

September 15, 2007  06:26 PM ET

yah its hard........... this season..........

September 15, 2007  06:28 PM ET

OVERRATED!! ND is always overrated

September 15, 2007  06:38 PM ET

Funny thing is, Charlie Weis wrote in his book that when he was a sophomore at Notre Dame, he called up the chancellor to complain about the football team much like you are doing now.

The Chancellor basically told him to shut up, let the coaches coach, and go study.

The Irish never wanted Weis anyway, they wanted Urban Meyer.

I'm sorry, but you can't root for Notre Dame, say you're "embarrassed" to be a fan of them, blame their lack of consistent reach for a national title on their demand for high academic achievement, and call them a "disgrace" while comparing their future to that of Yale and Harvard.

Just jump off the bandwagon now. Cuz everything you said is probably right. If that's not good enough, there's plenty of room on USC's bandwagon. They'll get top-end athletes every year, and will continue to join up with Miami, LSU, Texas and Florida by supplying the NFL with talent. If you don't want to root for the development of the complete student-athlete, then no, this is not the right team for you.

September 15, 2007  06:42 PM ET

YEAH MICHIGAN! WE'RE WINNING!

September 15, 2007  06:43 PM ET

I'm currently embarrassed. I hope I'm completely wrong. I will always support Notre Dame, but I will never expect greatness. Their football program is a disgrace. I love the school. The football team will end up like Harvard and Yale. I've never been on the bandwagon. My family was there before there was a Notre Dame bandwagon. I want football wins and smart kids. There has to be a line. Notre Dame is on the Harvard, Yale, Northwestern, Rice, Princeton, etc. side of the line. I want to be like Michigan. I want a good school who can compete. I wish I could say that I expected that.

September 15, 2007  06:45 PM ET

This could be the fastest I've ever typed. I wish it was like this when I wrote real papers and essays and articles and what nots. It's 1000 words, and it took me half and hour at most.

September 15, 2007  06:50 PM ET

Line?? What line? They were in the BCS last year! Harvard and Yale are I-AA schools!

September 15, 2007  06:58 PM ET

Yes. That's old news. These were suppose to be the great talent Weis recruited. These guys were suppose to be the great ones. Northwestern made it to a BCS Bowl six years ago. Teams like that can do great. Maybe not Yale or Harvard, but schools like Duke, Northwestern, Rice, and all the other smart D1A schools. That is all ND could be. Maybe this class won't change their verbals. Maybe Weis will bring in talent. I can only hope so.

September 15, 2007  07:05 PM ET

I thought Michigan was by far the worse team!?!?!?!?!


LMAO!!!!!

September 15, 2007  07:11 PM ET

As I was getting ready to take my son to football practice this morning, I contemplated which hat I should wear. My ND, Panthers, or something other. I chose "something other." It was because I didn't want to take flak from people on how bad the Irish are. Other times I could care less. I just wasn't up for dealing with trash talk this morning. When it comes down to it, all we Irish fans want is results. If you have watched anymore than 2 plays this season, you would have seen we don't get the results we want.

September 15, 2007  07:51 PM ET

Irish suck and have always been overrated. Go Blue lets win the rest of our games and get a BCS bid.

September 15, 2007  08:22 PM ET

ND is still to me one of the best teams in college football, they play one of the toughest schedules of any team every year, it shows that they only want a title if they have really earned it, this is a rebuilding year for the irish, lets not give up hope,,, P.S. michigan(as well as the rest of the petite10)blows.....

September 15, 2007  09:03 PM ET

YOU SPOKE WHAT I CANT

September 15, 2007  09:16 PM ET

It's only for one year. My uncle, who seriously gets like every ND inside info thing, says this year WILL be a rebuilding year. Next year, we'll be better.

September 16, 2007  12:14 AM ET

First Off I am very jellious that u have season tickets for the Irish. Would love to just see one game there. I am definetly dissapointed in this team this year but what are we suppose to expect when we have a team with a lot of Freshmen? Don't Give Up On Them it is just going to be a lousy year this year and hope for better next year.

September 16, 2007  12:26 AM ET

there's no whining in baseball and certainly not in blogging...
you have to support your team thru thick and thin...good times and bad times...
your team will be up again soon...just not this CENTURY...LOL
GO USC!

September 16, 2007  01:26 AM ET

I feel your pain dude.Been there and done that.I'm a Raider fan,but i would never dream of not being one.Have been since the glory days back in 70's.Seen the team go up and down over the years.College starts w/ coaching,recruiting,and what team can get in the draft.Hang in there dude.ND doesn't look good this year,but they will eventually,just not now.

September 16, 2007  09:10 AM ET

I know that this is a rebuilding year, but what are we rebuilding to? A dynasty or just a few bowl wins? I'm not going to stop supporting them. That would make no sense. The only time that I stop supporting a team is when they don't care about the fans or the players *cough* Pacers *cough*. I've never seen such a bad major program. When teams like Miami, Florida State, USC, Nebraska, and Oklahoma rebuild, they still make it to a bowl game. Notre Dame will be lucky to win 4 games. That's scary. They may be dead. 20 years without a national championship...

 
September 16, 2007  09:31 AM ET

I can remember a Great Notre Dame Quarterback.

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