Rest In Peace, FHSU

Long-time poster Jonny May, better known on the boards as FHSU Irish, lost his battle with cancer today at the age of 27.

Jon shared his stories with the NDN community and was an inspiration to many. Our prayers are with his family.

For those unfamiliar with his story, you can read about it on his blog.

Goodbye George

NDN regulars may remember the name George Porter-Young. Last April, an article in the Observer talked about his battle with bone cancer and the fact that he hadn't been home to England in 42 years.

A number of posters on the site participated in a funding drive to allow George one final visit with his family, as his myelodysplastic syndrome was considered terminal. Thanks to their generosity, George was able to travel to England and say goodbye to the family he hadn't seen in so long.

I was told today that George died a couple of weeks ago. Before his death, he asked that the people who made his trip possible be told how grateful he was and how much of a load off his mind it was that he had been able to do it.

NDNation makes me crazy sometimes, and I ask myself why I do this. Then I remember things like this we've been able to do because of the high-quality people we have reading and posting. My thanks to all of you who helped make George's dream come true. You're part of what makes Notre Dame great.

Merry Christmas

Early as it may be, on behalf of Michael, Scott and John, I'd like to wish our readers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Here's to health, happiness, and good discussions in 2009.

Memo to Jack: Fix It

For those who do not frequent the NDNation message boards, this was posted by a former Notre Dame player as a commentary on the current state of the program.

I don’t post to NDNATION often, but read it daily. Before anyone dismisses this as another “internet wacko” post, know this…

I am a proud member of the 1988 National Championship team; I was on the team in 1985 when we were abused and embarrassed by Miami. I was also on the team that beat Miami three years later. I am a part of its proud heritage. I wear a National Championship ring. I have a stake in Notre Dame. I have talked to many of my teammates who feel as I do. We never lost to USC.

Sadly, I am also embarrassed by what Notre Dame football has become. For the past 12 years, Notre Dame football has wallowed in mediocrity. The performance of the football team the last two years is not only historically far below standard; it is far below the talent level on the current team. This team is under-performing. I refuse to blame the players.

I’ve seen what failure looks like, and I’ve seen what excellence looks like. There are many symptoms of this under-performance, but the root cause is leadership. All of the great Notre Dame teams had the following in common: they were tough SOBs—they were physically and mentally tough, and fundamentally sound.

It is no accident that Anthony Johnson, a fullback on our team, would knock down the edge every single time. Not once in a while, not occasionally, every single time! Think about that and compare it to our current play. He was tough, and he was taught how to block. Oh yeah, and the man never, never lost yards when given the ball. Was Anthony Johnson a heralded recruit?—do some research.

Can youth and inexperience explain under-performance? Ask Mike Heldt, Dean Brown, Tim Ryan (a converted LB), Andy Heck (a converted TE), and Tim Grunhard.

I’ve seen great teaching and fundamental development on the football field, from Lou, to Joe Moore, to Pete Cordelli, to Barry Alvarez.

Is the situation hopeless? I don’t think so. Here is what needs to be done and needs to be done now.

The recipe for success at Notre Dame is simple:

First, find a great coach, with a proven track record of having his teams playing at (in the case of great programs) or above their historical level of performance, and get the hell out of his way. It works every time. Refuse to settle for less. When Lou was forced out, the replacements ... Wannstedt, Barnett, and Davie --- are you kidding me? Willingham? Are you seriously kidding me?

Second, Notre Dame’s identity has historically been one of hard work, discipline, toughness—what though the odds. That needs to be a part of all future teams. No more Bob “all ball” Davie, no more Ty “deer in the headlights” Willingham, and no more transparent “good cop, bad cop”, or “I am going to be more accessible to the players”, and personnel groupings shenanigans. Here’s a good rule of thumb—speak softly, but carry a big stick.

We should be able to line up, point to where we are running the ball and gain 3 yards-with any and all personnel. On that point, it was not uncommon for Lou to replace the entire 1st team OL with the 2nd team OL if they were under-performing just to send a shot across the bow (and to give Joe M. a crack at them).

We should have a coach who can maintain at or near an .800 winning percentage (as a goal). That means beating Navy, Air Force, Army, SD State (puke), Nevada (Puke), Syracuse (in its current state), 100% of time. That means beating the likes of Purdue, Boston College, and Pitt 90 percent of the time. That means beating Michigan and USC at least 50% of the time. Please, to all, no more of the dumb-downed expectations.

We should never, ever dumb down expectations. Let’s be clear, very clear to all what the minimum expectation should be every year—9-3. In fact, 9-3 is a sub-par season for Notre Dame…period! Anything below 9-3 should cause concern, serious concern. We should be a perennial top 10 program and in the BCS discussion every 4 out of 5 years. An occasional reloading year (8-4) is acceptable as long as the trajectory is clear.

To NDNATION, please keep the pressure on.

Remember, we are (and always will be) the Fighting Irish.

Set the Tone

I decided to drag out a Mike Brey-ism for this one.

I realize things both on this blog and on Rock's House and Cartier Field have trended very negative, especially since the Syracuse debacle and everything that's happened since. I've contributed to it, both here and there, and have decided to take a mini sabbatical until things cool off. We're in a slow news time anyway.

But before I go, my question to the readership: What do you expect us to do in this situation?

A commenter to Vannie's entry from earlier this evening requested we stop being negative, saying he responded this way in the hopes that my fellow Ops and I would "read this message and those like it enough times you'll quit crying and go back to being a good resource for those who love Notre Dame and its football program".

The problem is, we're trying to be a good resource, and we don't think we're doing our job by pretending everything is fine when it's not.

Things are bad, and have been bad to varying degrees for the better part of 15 years. Plenty of people on campus want change desperately, including a lot of the players. We have yet to see strong leadership coming from under the Dome, or any indication they're going to get this fixed. We're left to hope for this and have faith in that and pray for the other, but have precious little evidence any of it will happen. It's very possible we may be sitting here next year in the exact same position with the exact same problems. History has shown us that tends to happen.

We've warned of the dangers. We've suggested solutions. We've encouraged people to share their thoughts with the school admin. We've given examples of what other schools are doing and what we think needs to change. But all we're getting in response is blow-back that we're "whining" and "being too negative".

You're our readers, you tell us. What are we supposed to do here?