(Photo Credit: Joseph Weiser)
Last Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium the “boo birds” came out in force as the Irish left the field down 13-7 at the half.
They made several more audible appearances as the Irish struggled through the last two quarters.
Then, when the game mercifully ended with Mitch Jeter’s desperation 62-yard field goal attempt being blocked, the Irish left the field to the loudest chorus of boos of the day as Irish fans expressed their displeasure and frustration.
What a difference a week makes.
When I was a kid, I was taught that it was impolite and disrespectful to “boo”. To this day my inner compass signals a hard “stop” anytime I hear ‘em.
But College football has changed, SIGNIFICANTLY from the game I grew up loving and showing respect for.
And it’s money that has changed things.
It is said that as a matter of policy, Lou Holtz never earned more than the most tenured professor on campus. Today assistant coaches easily make 10x that and Marcus Freeman is paid in the neighborhood of $7 million a year. The campus crossroads project to expand Notre Dame Stadium a few years back cost $400 million. It is expected that the recently announced state of the art football offices facility will cost upwards of $100 million.
And, players now get paid. Some over a million dollars a year.
And we the fans are footing the bill.
We pay into the NIL collectives, we pay for the right to watch the Irish by footing sky high bills for cable and streaming services and tickets to get into a game, today average around $250 a piece.
When I was a kid we paid about eight bucks.
Money changes things. And it has changed me. Because these days I’m becoming more understanding of those who choose to boo the underperforming Irish last Saturday.
Win and all is well. Lose and YOU have some explaining to do.
Lose to a 28 point underdog, and YOU are going to hear about it.