The Weight of (Unrealistic) Expectations

Monday, Notre Dame fired their head football coach, Charlie Weis after five seasons. His 35-27 record was not acceptable by Notre Dame standards. Notre Dame while prestigious, has become a job that only a select few desire anymore. This is because of the unrealistic expectations placed on coaches to deliver them back to the old days when national championships were common place. In reality, Notre Dame hasn't won a national title since 1988 and hasn't really been relevant since Lou Holtz left in 1996. In reality, Notre Dame has won four national titles since integration and seven before it. Their 1966 national title came under scrutiny because number three Alabama may have had the best team but were punished in the polls because Bear Bryant didn't have any African American players. I don't know where football fans lost track of time but Notre Dame is no longer a football power when it habitually loses to service academies and doesn't draw top flight recruits anymore. SEC football, Big 12 and Pac 10 to lesser extents are played at a different level and at a different speed. Notre Dame fans would do well to lose the sense of entitlement because they think they are an elite football program. If they need help, they may look to the southern end of Indiana and the Indiana University basketball team. The fans have no illusions that the school is a work in progress and pretty much has been since the firing of Bob Knight. Tom Crean inherited two players when he took over in 2007 and is gradually building the program back to its place in the college basketball world. They still sit third all time with five national titles (tied with the University of North Carolina) behind Kentucky and UCLA. Take a lesson gold domers, rebuilding takes time. REBUILDING-learn the word.