Quote:
Originally posted by amycat412
That said, I was one of the USC fans clamoring for Robinson's/Hackett's heads when we suffered a few losing seasons in a row. And why? Becuase they just did not "get" the whole USC thing. And htat is what I keep hearing people say about Willingham and the ND 'thing"
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What's the "ND Thing" right now? Mediocrity? Overrated and inflated reputation in the media, that doesn't carry over to the general population? Recruits turning them down for UF, for NC State, for Minnesota (as has happened recently)? A history of "winning" that traces back 70 years, but not 15 years?
For my money, it's the inverse of Florida - UF sucked terribly until Spurrier took over, just decades of losing and third-tier statues. Now it's a tier-one job - why? b/c it's increasingly a "what have you done for me lately?" lifestyle. And Carroll might or might not "get" USC - but would you fire him if he didn't? Of course not, b/c he WINS.
I think you can conflate "gets it" with "is winning" and not lose a beat. Think about it.
In this case, apparently most of the nation doesn't "get it" with Notre Dame, b/c their ratings on NBC are falling, their recruiting classes were weak (up until, uh, Willingham's last two, including the incoming), and a couple (minor) scandals that were way outside of ND's perception of itself.
I think the "gets it" argument is sort of a cop-out, especially for ND. On the other hand, Amy, you should have pushed for the two previous USC coaches to be shot out of a cannon, b/c they were political hires and subpar choices (who haven't exactly resurfaced in college football, IIRC) . . . not just b/c they didn't revere OJ and Marcus Allen.