Football: The proof is in the play
By: ANDREW SOUKUP
Sports Writer
A passing F-16 jet generates a thunderous boom few machines can rival. Its prestige is unparalleled, its power unquestioned.
But those ear-splitting jets failed to match the din of long-dormant echoes awakening as 80,795 Irish fans focused on the fighters on the field, not the ones in the sky.
At the center of the South Bend thunderstorm stands Tyrone Willingham, who joined Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine as the only Irish coaches to win their first three games. Credit him with doing the impossible — getting the alumni in the gold seats to stand during a football game.
This is the man who noticed The Shirt was green and donned an emerald green shirt to match the students. This is the man who commands the attention of everyone from his 100-person football team in the locker room to dozens of writers in a press conference. This is the man who raised a finger, silenced 11,000 fans in a rowdy pep rally and orchestrated a single deafening clap that echoed from the bowels of the Joyce Center to Notre Dame homes across the country.
This is the man who taught the Irish how to fight.
Sometime in the middle of the summer, when everyone else asked, "Why?" Willingham asked his team, "Why not?" Very early on, he made it clear there would be no rebuilding period, no calm before the storm.
"I don't have a five-year plan," Willingham said. "After living in the Bay Area and seeing what happens with the dot-com industry, you can't afford to have a five-year plan anywhere. We win for today.''
Against Tennessee a year ago, key fumbles kept the Irish out of the game. Against Nebraska two years ago, the defense faltered in overtime. Willingham guaranteed there would be no similar collapse against Michigan.
Remember, Willingham didn't break up the two-point conversion. Willingham didn't intercept the final pass. Willingham didn't kick the deciding field goal. Willingham didn't throw the flag to signal holding in the end zone.
All Willingham did was remind his players that they are the Fighting Irish.
So when Arnaz Battle fumbled on a kickoff and set up a Michigan touchdown, forcing the Irish to play catch-up for the first time all season, Notre Dame didn't fold. When John Navarre led the Wolverine offense on a final drive, the Irish defense drew a line and didn't flinch.
And at the end of the game, Willingham stood still, arms crossed, sunglasses covering his eyes as students rained onto the field from the bleachers. The eye of the storm saw everything and smiled.
Everyone wanted Willingham to have a honeymoon. In their hearts, Notre Dame fans were willing to give the new coach a few years to adjust. Willingham needed to recruit players who fit his system, more talent, an easier schedule, time to get used to the pressures of Notre Dame. The slogan emblazoned on The Shirt — "Return to Glory" — was supposed to take a few years before Notre Dame returned to the land of football dominance.
Willingham could have picked his excuse — any excuse — and gotten away with it. But he glanced at the list for a second, said "Thank you very much," stuck his honeymoon where the sun doesn't shine and led the Irish to their first 3-0 start since 1996. Players call him "The Prophet" for a reason.
"I'm just in it to win it," he said. "I'm sorry that it comes off so simple."
This is Tyrone Willingham's team. If you didn't believe it before Saturday, you know it now.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Contact Andrew Soukup at asoukup@nd.edu.
All Sports Stories for Monday, September 16, 2002
