A Notre Dame Football Fan Tradition: Summer Anxiety
I hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend full of reflection regarding the reason for the holiday itself and had some fun times with those you care about as well. While I was doing both of these things I started pondering Summer. Football summers to be more specific.
For those that are “die-hards” for a team, Summer is a time of relaxation from the week-to-week intensity the regular season provides but it also brings with it a unique kind of anxiety with no short-term resolution in sight. How good will the team be? Will we win (insert big game opponent here)? How will each position group hold up?
For Irish fans, I feel like this normal kind of worry has been ratcheted up a bit this cycle. Let’s examine why the already high-strung Irish faithful, myself included are wound extra tight in these hot & humid months.
4 Losses
Ask yourself how differently the vibe would be surrounding all things Notre Dame Football had the Irish not dropped the Marshall & Stanford games. These 2 games were absolute backbreakers and were games Notre Dame had no business losing.
These types of losses linger. What caused them? Were they a one time thing or something to worry about this year as well? What did or didn’t Marcus Freeman do to get the team ready for these games? These questions are fair and cannot be answered for months. Anxiety provoking indeed.
Major Roster Turnover
Notre Dame fans are quite frankly not used to the amount of roster turnover they have seen take place since the Kelly-Freeman regime change. Do players not want to be here anymore? Are these Freeman-led decisions? Where do we go from here in terms of roster building? All fair questions.
The reality is that while it’s a bit uncomfortable to observe, this kind of turnover is pretty common when there are coaching changes. All the Irish faithful can do at this point is trust in Freeman’s vision and evaluation of how he wants to build his team. Will it work? We sweat it out all summer in anticipation to find out.
Recruiting
Notre Dame fans are always concerned about recruiting and always have been. Can the Irish “close the gap” to the current talent-loaded powers that be or will they fall further behind? What about NIL & undergrad transfers? These are new-age concerns but valid ones nonetheless.
But what I think has added additional stress to Irish-minded fans this cycle is the nightmare of what happened to the top end of the ’23 class approaching signing day. For a multitude of reasons, the very best players in the class and or that were reported to be didn’t end up wearing Blue & Gold. I feel that this has Irish fans weary to go all in on the current success of the ’24 class. Can the Irish hold all their top players and keep adding more? We hope so.
Schedule
Marcus Freeman has inherited 2 of the toughest Notre Dame schedules I can recall in a long time to begin his tenure. Back-to-back years of multi-conference powers Ohio State, USC, and Clemson. Notre Dame won 1/3 last year. Can they get to 2/3 or even 3/3 this year? Nobody knows.
The Irish will be on the big stage often in 2023 with a ton to play for and a ton to lose. The “Big 3” on the schedule represent the barometer for where the program is presently at, and Irish fans are antsy for bragging rights.
Nothing Is Easy
I feel that many in this fan base were hopeful that Marcus Freeman could take over where Kelly left off and raise the bar instantly never to look back. In reality, this wasn’t possible. There are apparently a lot more areas of the team that need work before Notre Dame can be title contenders.
Irish fans may have to be open to the idea that last year was a 1 step backward to end up 2 steps forward type of dynamic. Nobody likes facing this reality, but it is one. Freeman wants to and should have the right to adjust whatever he needs to personnel-wise his first few years. Will his vision, which differs from Kelly pay off? Again, we wait and see while sipping summer tea.
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