Is Notre Dame overrated?

So I'm sitting there watching Rudy. (Great movie BTW.)
And I see how this kid idolizes Notre Dame soooooo much that he fights hard to go to school just so he can be on the team.
But why?
Were they serious contenders a long time ago?
Winning a lot of championships?
Are they like the Packers of college with their history and mystique and winning championships more so in the past?
What makes them so famous even though they haven't won any big bowl games recently?
Or have they and I'm just not aware of them?

To me, it's the correlation with the Packers. The fanbase is so huge, it's college football tradition, it's standing for student-athletes and not just juiced up freaks earning gifts and whatnot (yes, I'm looking at you USC. Sorry CM3.)

The program hasn't been ran well for quite sometime, and it's still surviving being independent. Can you imagine if they were winning?

I appreciate your insights and I think your right.

It's the fan base and the sense of history and tradition.
And if the real life Rudy had gone to a state run University school, I don't think it would have captured the filmmakers imagination.
(Rudy going to Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa etc. just doesn't have the same ring as Notre Dame.)

Any other insights/comments are welcome.

Thank you for your helpful perspectives as well.

Getting back to Rudy for a moment.....
Does anyone know if he really did lose a friend in an accident?
So far I haven't found anything, even on his sight.
Yeah, I know that Hollywierd takes liberties with biopics. Just wondering if that one was true.

Yes, Notre Dame back in the 20s-40s (not quite sure of the dates) was a powerhouse of college football. They were famous for the 4 horsemen in the 20s. They have a LONG tradition and Curly Lambeau played for Knute Rocke at Norte Dame in 1918 and brought that football knowledge with him when he founded the Green Bay Packers. So as a GB fan, I kind of have a soft spot for Notre Dame.

The Green Bay Packers original colors were that of Nortre Dame btw. Lombardi changed it to Green/Gold when he took over.

Thank you for that bit of history, triva and your insights.
Much appreciated!

actually i think the movie was focuse towards a kid who would do anything to make his dream come true moreso than notre dame.. i dont think it would have mattered what school it was becasue that wasnt the point

Not only that, but one of the 4 horsemen, "Sleepy" Jim Crowley was Vince Lombardi's coach at Fordham.

I think the sports teams that have been here for a while have a certain aura to them.
For baseball, it's the Yankees.
Pro football, the Packers.
College football, Fighting Irish.

While Notre Dame was part of the backdrop of Rudy, I don't think it hurt that it was. The story of Rudy who just happened to go to Notre Dame, to me, fits like a hand in glove.

Well, if anyone saw yesterday's game against Tulsa, yes. ND is overrated. And crappy.

I know I'm late on this but the fact is into the 90's ND was a top football program, consistently in the hunt for the national championship. Then once Holtz left things fell apart.

Not too late at all.
Insights on this are always welcome any time. reach:

Notre Dame is WAY overrated. As even they know. Every time somebody suggests they get in a real division, like the Big 10, they back out FAST!

today? Yes. In history? No, its hard to top Notre Dames history but if they dont get their head out of their *** they will be relics in college ftball

Notre Dame has one of the most obnoxious fan bases, plus as we all know they all wear reversible jackets (notre dame football in the fall and IU basketball in the winter). I guess not so much IU basketball anymore, now they just play in the overrated big east.

If they were to actually join the big ten they would get stomped.

always have been.

1-ND fans are nowhere near as obnoxious as Michigan fans.

2-I don't own any reversible jackets.

3-The Big Ten would stomp them? Don't think so. The only 2 teams to have a winning record against ND are OSU and Michigan. And Purdue has lost the last 5 out of 6 vs ND.


Are they overrated? At times they are bu not as much as they once were.

If they joined the big ten (12?) they would lose to Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan st, Ohio st, and Penn st next season. And winning records mean nothing, just like the packers record against the steelers really means squat this weekend.

Love to know what you base that opinion on. Last year's performance?

ND returns 18 starters from last season and now have a year under the new system installed by Kelly. That does count for somethig especially when none of their QB's had any experience at the college level last season.

Last I checked, Iowa didn't set the conference on fire last year and lose their QB, their top WR and nearly their enitre defensive line including thei best defensive player. Penn St and Michigan St both lose key personnel as well but the Lions don't lose as many starters as the Spartans. Nebraska and Wisconsin both return only half their starters and the Badgers lose a ton of talent on the O-line. Both teams also lose their best defensive players.

Ohio State would always be tough no matter what.

I'm not saying ND would kill anybody but to think they would get kicked around by the teams in the Big Ten is just hating on them.

Sure lets use last years record. Against the big 10 you went 1-2. Lost to a good but overrated michigan state team and lost to a bad Michigan team. Your best win was either against Utah or USC who was devastated with sanctions, neither team being great.

I keep here about next year from notre dame fans. Starting to wonder when next year will turn into this year. It would be a nice name for the Big 10 to add but bringing in notre dame would do little to improve the athletic profile of the big 10, and notre dame is too proud to be stuck in the middle of the big ten rankings.

Very true. The loss to MSU was pretty bad but the loss to Michigan was inexcusable in a way. Then again, a totally new system with QB's that had zero game experience at the major college level will make mistakes.

The next 2 seasons will tell if Kelly can turn it around after what Weis did to the program. Personally I was never for Weis being HC. Yeah he won some rings with the Pats but NCAA football and the NFL are 2 very different things. He came in and only focused on the offense. He never developed any of the talent he had on defense and it showed badly.

I like that Kelly brought in Bobby Diacco to run the defense. He's a good recruiter and if he coaches anywhere near the way he played at Iowa, things should change dramatically (I hope).

Will ND ever be the way they were with Lou Holtz and even before him? I can't say they definitely will unless they relax their admissions standards. And that probably won't ever happen.