IRISH INSIDER: Seniors relish return to glory
BY ANDREW SOUKUP
Sports Writer
The fifth-year seniors had every right to jump ship.
Could you blame them if they did? This was the class that suffered thro-ugh two losing seasons with sub-.500 records. The class that had as many head coaches as winning seasons. The class that came in with loads of potential and hadn't seen it manifest on the football field.
Notre Dame's senior class had motive and opportunity. All they needed to do was run away from Notre Dame, away from the scribes who would write off their years under the Golden Dome as a giant disappointment, away from the shadows of Rockne and Leahy, away from the black stain on Notre Dame's football program.
But they stayed. And by staying, they became legends.
They'll admit it. Many of Notre Dame's fifth-year seniors toyed with the idea of leaving Notre Dame for the NFL, for real life, for anywhere where their every move wouldn't be analyzed under a microscope.
But they stayed. Their individual reasons for why they stayed are different. Shane Walton didn't think he was ready for the NFL. Arnaz Battle had yet to establish himself as a wide receiver. Ryan Roberts couldn't wait to start.
The Irish seniors had their individual reasons for sticking around. They also had a legacy to leave behind.
Few will admit it, but the prospect of being remembered as playing during an era best described as decidedly Faustian wasn't exactly how the seniors wanted to leave.
"I didn't expect to have any losing seasons coming to Notre Dame," Jordan Black said. "I expected to win a national championship. I thought that was very possible with the recruiting class that I was in."
They had dreams of winning a national title, of proving that Notre Dame could still compete with the nation's elite programs. They wanted to walk out with their heads held high knowing they left behind a program in stable hands.
And they will.
Ask a Notre Dame die-hard the significance of 1964 and they'll start bragging about how Ara Parseghian magically turned the Irish program around. Talk to those around campus in 1993 and they'll say how great it was to be around a national championship race.
Now, the 2002 version of the Irish football team is writing chapters in history one Saturday at a time.
And the seniors love it.
Say all you want about the dramatic turnaround Tyrone Willingham created this year, but Willingham himself would be the first to say the Irish wouldn't be 9-1 without the senior class. He didn't even name captains, choosing instead to place the burden of leadership on the entire team instead of on four individuals.
When a new head coach comes in, he often ignores the seniors and focuses on rebuilding the program's freshman and sophomore classes. But Willingham didn't scorn Notre Dame's seniors. He called on them for their leadership, asked for their respect and offered them the chance to return to greatness.
It was a chance they grabbed.
"As a senior, you don't want the year of a new coach to be a rebuilding year," Ryan Roberts said. "We knew from the first workouts this was going to be a different kind of deal."
Did the Irish worry about their place in history? Not too often, mostly because they already knew they were only going to receive a few lines in the media guides instead of pages devoted to great teams.
Not many will admit it, but the uncertainty was there. It was there in winter workouts, it was there in spring practice, it was there over the summer, and it was there on media day. The Irish said they were headed for a huge turnaround. Few heard them. Fewer believed them.
In fact, even as the Irish claimed they could contend for a national championship, they weren't too sure themselves whether this year would be different from the rest.
But they blew out Maryland. Edged Michigan. Rallied to beat Michigan State. Crushed Florida State. Secured their place in history.
"We've had so many losing seasons, thinking about losing wouldn't have done us any good," Gerome Sapp said.
Now, instead of being remembered as the forgotten seniors, this year's class will be seen as the catalyst for an Irish return to glory.
Now, instead of being compared to the 1993 team, considered by many to be the last time Notre Dame challenged for a national title, the 2002 Irish will be looked at as the first group of many to challenge for a title.
Now, instead of wondering whether they'd ever make an impact, the Irish will graduate feeling their stint under the Dome had tremendous significance.
Now, the seniors know what pride feels like.
The views 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 Friday, November 22, 2002
