Here Comes The Holy War
November 19, 2019 | Football, #ForBoston Files
BC-Notre Dame isn't an annual game, but it's still something embedded in the program's soul.
It's Notre Dame week. Let that flow freely through your soul.
I realize that statement makes me out to be a football-based Emperor Palpatine, but it's impossible to deny what that means. Boston College doesn't play the Fighting Irish annually anymore, but that does nothing to quell old, familiar feelings. It's still the Holy War, and it reminds me of a shirt I once wore into Alumni Stadium in the early-2000s.
This is more than just a game. This is Notre Dame.
"I think (the rivalry) is great for college football," BC head coach Steve Addazio said. "I think there's a lot of similarities (between the two schools). It lends itself to a natural rivalry kind of game. These are two programs that do it the right way. They place tremendous emphasis on academics and scholarship and faith and character. All of those things go into making these two Catholic institutions elite."
Playing Notre Dame transcends anything about a football game. It's an articulated image and an emotional, visual representation. The athletes represent the ghosts of a unique mystique by generations of players, coaches and legends who patrolled Notre Dame Stadium. Their uniforms are a legacy baked into their numbers, all brought together by the synonymous golden dome helmets.Â
It's an aura unlike anything else in college football. Other programs are bigger monsters, but Notre Dame has something no other team boasts. The name evokes a passion fostered beyond any geographical limitation, a slice of Americana frozen in time, but still handed down through generations steeped in their own successful history.
Esteeming that understanding, how Notre Dame resides in the American football lexicon, makes it okay to let a good brand of sports rivalry flow through your veins. It makes wins feel all the more worthwhile, and it makes wins on the road taste that much sweeter.
Take the 2002 matchup when a 4-3 Boston College team traveled to play an undefeated, fourth-ranked Notre Dame immediately after losing, 19-16, to Pittsburgh in overtime. The Fighting Irish wore green at home for the first time in almost 20 years, but the Eagle defense broke their national championship hopes with a 14-7 win.Â
Or maybe there's the 2004 matchup two years later. Notre Dame went 5-7 in 2003, including a last-minute loss to BC at Alumni Stadium, but returned to form the following year. When the Eagles rolled into South Bend, the Irish had a 5-2 record, including a win over No. 8 Michigan, and returned to the national rankings.
The Irish opened up a 20-7 lead in the first half, but only mustered a field goal in the second half as Paul Peterson stormed BC back. A 21-yard touchdown to Joel Hazard brought the visitors within a score, and a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez completed another last-minute victory, 24-23. It sparked the Eagles to nearly win the Big East, while Notre Dame lost three of its last four, including its bowl game, to finish 6-6.
None of that, of course, matches the first-ever BC victory over Notre Dame in 1993. It was only the second year of the teams' annual series and at the height of Lou Holtz's success in South Bend. The year before, Notre Dame destroyed BC, 54-7, in a game where Holtz infamously called for a fake punt with a 37-0 lead after the crowd scenes for the movie Rudy were shot at halftime.
That '93 game, though, became the headline attraction after BC upset Notre Dame one week after the infamous No. 1-vs.-No. 2 game between the Irish and Florida State. David Gordon's kick barely cleared that crossbar, but it ultimately cost ND a national championship.
"I can remember when I was at Notre Dame and BC beat us out there," Addazio, who was an assistant at Notre Dame from 1999-2001, said. "The guys came in, and at that time it was still the grass field. They cut out pieces of the turf to bring back (to BC)."
The current players might not be old enough to remember any of those years, but their coaches and fans can't forget those memories. They remember the feeling of toppling the iconic brand while taking bragging rights back to Boston. It's why this game still runs deep within the alumni's bones, embedded deep within the fabric of this program, as a connection between generations who wore BC's maroon and gold.
"In today's world, the history of these things isn't the same as it used to be," Addazio said. "So you've got to bring it back to life. When we talk about the Syracuse rivalry, we really worked hard to bring that back to life again. It wasn't long ago that it wasn't so intense. Things happen quick.
"I'm going to do some other things as the week goes on to make sure they understand the intensity of this game," he continued. "These guys may not have been there. But we also deal with guys who are very bright guys. They get it and understand it. They feel it. You are still playing a national team. This is still a grand stage, and if you're a competitor, that's what you want to do."
So let it flow through your football soul this week. Let that feeling consider the history and tell the stories of the years gone past. Let it remind you about how limited the chances are to beat Notre Dame. Think and dream about what the win would mean by itself before factoring in anything else. Immerse yourself in the waters of what college football is meant to have at its highest level - a rivalry between schools representing the same core values.
It's Notre Dame week. Here come the Irish.
I realize that statement makes me out to be a football-based Emperor Palpatine, but it's impossible to deny what that means. Boston College doesn't play the Fighting Irish annually anymore, but that does nothing to quell old, familiar feelings. It's still the Holy War, and it reminds me of a shirt I once wore into Alumni Stadium in the early-2000s.
This is more than just a game. This is Notre Dame.
"I think (the rivalry) is great for college football," BC head coach Steve Addazio said. "I think there's a lot of similarities (between the two schools). It lends itself to a natural rivalry kind of game. These are two programs that do it the right way. They place tremendous emphasis on academics and scholarship and faith and character. All of those things go into making these two Catholic institutions elite."
Playing Notre Dame transcends anything about a football game. It's an articulated image and an emotional, visual representation. The athletes represent the ghosts of a unique mystique by generations of players, coaches and legends who patrolled Notre Dame Stadium. Their uniforms are a legacy baked into their numbers, all brought together by the synonymous golden dome helmets.Â
It's an aura unlike anything else in college football. Other programs are bigger monsters, but Notre Dame has something no other team boasts. The name evokes a passion fostered beyond any geographical limitation, a slice of Americana frozen in time, but still handed down through generations steeped in their own successful history.
Esteeming that understanding, how Notre Dame resides in the American football lexicon, makes it okay to let a good brand of sports rivalry flow through your veins. It makes wins feel all the more worthwhile, and it makes wins on the road taste that much sweeter.
Take the 2002 matchup when a 4-3 Boston College team traveled to play an undefeated, fourth-ranked Notre Dame immediately after losing, 19-16, to Pittsburgh in overtime. The Fighting Irish wore green at home for the first time in almost 20 years, but the Eagle defense broke their national championship hopes with a 14-7 win.Â
Or maybe there's the 2004 matchup two years later. Notre Dame went 5-7 in 2003, including a last-minute loss to BC at Alumni Stadium, but returned to form the following year. When the Eagles rolled into South Bend, the Irish had a 5-2 record, including a win over No. 8 Michigan, and returned to the national rankings.
The Irish opened up a 20-7 lead in the first half, but only mustered a field goal in the second half as Paul Peterson stormed BC back. A 21-yard touchdown to Joel Hazard brought the visitors within a score, and a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez completed another last-minute victory, 24-23. It sparked the Eagles to nearly win the Big East, while Notre Dame lost three of its last four, including its bowl game, to finish 6-6.
None of that, of course, matches the first-ever BC victory over Notre Dame in 1993. It was only the second year of the teams' annual series and at the height of Lou Holtz's success in South Bend. The year before, Notre Dame destroyed BC, 54-7, in a game where Holtz infamously called for a fake punt with a 37-0 lead after the crowd scenes for the movie Rudy were shot at halftime.
That '93 game, though, became the headline attraction after BC upset Notre Dame one week after the infamous No. 1-vs.-No. 2 game between the Irish and Florida State. David Gordon's kick barely cleared that crossbar, but it ultimately cost ND a national championship.
"I can remember when I was at Notre Dame and BC beat us out there," Addazio, who was an assistant at Notre Dame from 1999-2001, said. "The guys came in, and at that time it was still the grass field. They cut out pieces of the turf to bring back (to BC)."
The current players might not be old enough to remember any of those years, but their coaches and fans can't forget those memories. They remember the feeling of toppling the iconic brand while taking bragging rights back to Boston. It's why this game still runs deep within the alumni's bones, embedded deep within the fabric of this program, as a connection between generations who wore BC's maroon and gold.
"In today's world, the history of these things isn't the same as it used to be," Addazio said. "So you've got to bring it back to life. When we talk about the Syracuse rivalry, we really worked hard to bring that back to life again. It wasn't long ago that it wasn't so intense. Things happen quick.
"I'm going to do some other things as the week goes on to make sure they understand the intensity of this game," he continued. "These guys may not have been there. But we also deal with guys who are very bright guys. They get it and understand it. They feel it. You are still playing a national team. This is still a grand stage, and if you're a competitor, that's what you want to do."
So let it flow through your football soul this week. Let that feeling consider the history and tell the stories of the years gone past. Let it remind you about how limited the chances are to beat Notre Dame. Think and dream about what the win would mean by itself before factoring in anything else. Immerse yourself in the waters of what college football is meant to have at its highest level - a rivalry between schools representing the same core values.
It's Notre Dame week. Here come the Irish.
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