Irish seniors unable to taste victory
By BRIAN KESSLER
Sports Editor
Following Saturday's 31-29 loss to Boston College, senior defensive end Lamont Bryant pounded his helmet against the ground in frustration like a warrior who just lost his final battle.
He should have been able to raise his helmet to the student section with pride after his final home victory.
Senior split end Bobby Brown emerged from the locker room dazed, while struggling to hold back tears as he spoke to the media about the loss.
Those should have been tears of joy after walking through the tunnel and celebrating victory with his teammates for the final time in the Notre Dame locker room.
Unlike Brown, senior safety A'Jani Sanders walked right past the media, murmuring, "Come on, you guys."
He should have been able to stop and talk with the reporters about how it felt to win his final game in Notre Dame Stadium .
A lot of things should have been different Saturday. A lot of things should have been different this season.
"I wish I could tell you what went wrong this season, but I couldn't explain it," senior cornerback Deveron Harper said. "My thoughts aren't clear right now. You just work hard and trust everything will get better, and when it doesn't ... Well, this is not the way I wanted to go out."
It's not the way any of the seniors wanted it to end.
"It's very difficult," Brown said. "My eyes are filled with tears, realizing it's over. This is the last time I'll walk up the tunnel and it's not the way you want it. I didn't get to sing the fight song for the last time. I don't think words can explain exactly how myself or any of the seniors feel, but life goes on."
The seniors had high expectations entering the season.
"I thought that we were going to win the national championship this year," senior flanker Raki Nelson said.
A national championship was out of the question a long time ago and now so is a bowl game.
"We pretty much thought we'd win these last two games and have a chance to at least go to a decent bowl game," sophomore tailback Tony Fisher said. "Now all those dreams are shattered, especially for the seniors. Basically, these last two games were for the seniors and unfortunately, we came up short again."
The only game the Irish will play over the holidays this season is Saturday's showdown with Rose Bowl-bound Stanford over Thanksgiving break. Perhaps Notre Dame can pretend it's a Rose Bowl to be played in Palo Alto, rather than Pasadena — one without the parade and the $8 million payoff, of course.
In fact, the only motivation left for the Irish and the senior class is to go out with a victory and avoid the first seven loss season in 35 years.
"Fortunately, we have another game left," head coach Bob Davie said. "So we have a chance for our seniors to finish this thing off right."
The mood in the locker room following the seniors' last home game proved that things weren't right Saturday.
"It was tough. It was quiet," junior Grant Irons said. "Everyone was just feeling for each other, especially the seniors. It's their last game and you always want to send them out on top."
After what some of the seniors have been through during their careers — a coaching change, no bowl victories, lofty expectations, personal adversity — it's an accomplishment to go out at all.
"I think we're beat up emotionally more than anything," captain Jarious Jackson said. "We've had some ups and downs, but hopefully we can find some way to pull through."
The Irish seniors couldn't pull through in their final home game. Maybe they can find a way to win their final game in a Notre Dame uniform.
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 22, 1999
