Abjure the underlying orthodoxy
by ndtnguy (2013-10-09 10:05:10)

In reply to: Bye Weeks and Trons  posted by HTownND


Accept instead some basic propositions that eliminate the premises on which the conclusion "we should have video board" are based. Stop fighting the battle on ground of the enemy's choosing.

A human being does not require and should not expect to be provided constant audiovisual stimulation.

The end of attending a live sporting event is not entertainment provided via any electronic medium.

The purpose of a stadium is to provide a venue for the observation of sporting events by people conducting themselves, individually and collectively, as civilized human beings. It is not to showcase a brand or to see how much noise 80,000 people can produce if they all simultaneously strive to injure their vocal cords.

The incessant aural assault that contemporary life makes upon us should be resisted, not encouraged.

No live sporting event should involve animation.

* * *


If Jack really wanted to put Notre Dame out in front somewhere, he would have said, some time ago, "We understand that video boards can be found in essentially every major sporting venue in the U.S. We also understand that fans in some of these venues believe that those boards provide some manner of subjective 'enhancement' to their sports-viewing experience.

"But in a world ruled increasingly by screens, where so many of our students, alumni, and fans spend so much of their lives tied to computer and telephone screens, that there's a real value to keeping Notre Dame Stadium as a place without one. We've tried hard over the years to make game day at Notre Dame a special and unique experience, and we strongly believe that, especially in the context of today's world, there's something special about the authentic human experience of watching a sporting event live, in real time, and without being subjected to someone else's electronically rendered impression of how you ought to be enjoying that experience.

"Obviously, we can only accommodate 70,000 or so visitors to Notre Dame Stadium on game day; so we value immeasurably the contributions of our media partner, NBC, and the other television outfits that allow people around the world to see Notre Dame football. But our goal has never been to make the game day experience here a simulacrum of watching TV, as valuable as that medium is for our fans who can't join us in person.

"It has never been the goal of this University to be ordinary or replaceable. It has been our constant endeavor, at every level, to make a unique contribution to the social, cultural, and religious life of the United States. Accordingly, for the sake of the football program's position within that wider mission of the University, it is the Athletic Department's firm and unwavering decision that a jumbotron will not be installed in Notre Dame Stadium."