Irish Fans Are In A Tough Spot

As the dog days of summer begin to die down, the Irish faithful are ramping up in terms of both anxiety and excitement. The schedule is challenging and all eyes locally and notionally are focused on Marcus Freeman in his second year at the helm.

Can the Irish improve on their 4-loss regular season? What happens in the marquee 3? Can Notre Dame avoid having losses to teams such as Marshall & Stanford this year? How might recruiting shift in the season based on the game results? How much better is Notre Dame with Sam Hartman under center? In 5 more weeks, some answers to these questions will start to unveil themselves.

Irish fans are in a tough spot right now. Anxious to be elite after decades of not being so but yet trying to also be understanding of Freeman’s learning curve and be patient with him. Let’s explore just how tough walking this tightrope will be.

Tired Of Waiting For "Next Year"

Notre Dame fans are sick and tired of potential, what about next year, if this or if that. Irish fans always seem stuck in a vacuum of looking to the future, one that rarely comes in the form we envisioned. The Irish’s last title was in 1988 and its last major bowl win 1994, a statistic that has become an evergreen internet meme, much to Notre Dame fan’s dislike.

Quite frankly, patience is running thin within the fan base. Hopes were high that with Freeman taking over the program greener pastures were ahead. Recruiting would take a drastic uptick instantly and wins would soon follow. Year 1 was a struggle though. From injuries, and a shaky roster in many spots to a new Head Coach learning on the fly, it was rough.

Freeman's Progress

Here’s where Irish fans are getting stuck. How to balance 3 decades of nonelite results and having no patience for that continuing with the reality of the current situation? That reality is that fact that Freeman is still learning on the job and has had to overhaul the roster much more than anyone had hoped he’d have to.

The good news is that the 2023 schedule is legitimately tough. Notre Dame is going to find out exactly where they stand in the national landscape after this year. There will be no gray area. Flaws will be exposed and strengths revealed. How many of each? We wait and see.

Walk The Line

Irish fans have a tough task in front of them that they must navigate carefully. Support Coach Freeman patiently as he builds confidence in himself as the leader of the program learning on the job while at the same time grappling with the frustration of 3 decades of winning nothing of national importance or credibility.

This is Freeman’s “calibration” year to make adjustments off of what worked and didn’t work year 1 before the entire landscape of college football shifts into the new expanded playoff era. Will he be able to gift Irish fans what they are begging for in 2023, national credibility, or will folks have to “wait until next year” yet again?

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Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire