Okay, so it wasn’t a good weekend for the University of Notre Dame’s football team. It wasn’t a good weekend for the second weekend in a row either. And next weekend doesn’t look too promising.
But let’s remember that the Fighting Irish are not the Cubs. They’ve had great seasons in recent memory capped by appearances at post-season bowl games. They also lost some of their star athletes due to graduation last May.
I attended the Notre Dame/Georgia Tech game in South Bend where the score was pretty lopsided early on. By the fourth quarter fans — at least I thought they were fans — were draining the stadium of green shirts in a steady stream. “Hey, Earl,” I asked. “Don’t diehard fans stay to the end to cheer their team on, even if it’s losing?” “No,” he grumbled. “Let’s go eat.”
I was ready to leave, not because I was disappointed in the outcome but because I’d had enough football for the entire season. I don’t rate myself as a fan, merely Earl’s guest. And maybe it was all those other “guests” who left early. But I don’t think so.
I’m really surprised at how quickly the faithful fans turn into the fair weather variety. How fast they become frustrated — no, pissed — at the players and the coaches. Not just the fans, but the sport analysts and commentators too. This day isn’t long enough for the Monday morning quarterbacking taking place. And if next weekend doesn’t brighten up, I suspect Monday will be extended at least to the middle of the week.
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