On down the line! Beside the glory of her name.
On down the line! Beneath the colors of an ancient fame.
On down the line! Another day for her proclaim.
Old Gold and Blue - You're going through-
Go down the line for Notre Dame.
On Down The Line is a Notre Dame Football blog written by a collection of fairly recent Notre Dame grads (We're still young, dammit!) who have decided to share their humorous, insightful, and embittered take on On Our Lady's University, and the sport that makes it
so much money. Hopefully, you'll take the time to reflect with us, bask and revel in the victories, and make sardonic and self-effacing jokes after losses. Also, we all might learn something about advanced football statistics in the process. Unlikely, but possible.
Anyone who's ever sat through a creative writing course during First Year of Studies knows that ND men aren't great at introspection, but here anyway, are capsules of the ODTL staff:
James Fegan
I figured I'd go with a goofy college-age picture of me at a game, and I think 'Shot of me eating a Lemon Chill at the utterly putrid Ross-Ade Stadium' is as good as I could hope for. I graduated from Notre Dame in 2009 after four years of comedy writing, Latin American history, and consistent weight gain. Post-grad I work in a hospital doing a job I can proudly claim I have to wear dress socks for, and am the sole writer and proprietor of the ChicagoNow baseball blog, 'White Sox Observer'. One could call me the leader of this group because I conceived of the idea to have a blog and send the most unanswered mass emails of anyone, but just like a 6-6 team; ODTL has no leaders, only talent. Miles and miles of unused talent.
I did not grow up a Notre Dame fan. Instead I followed local teams like Northwestern (Purrrrple!) and Illinois, up until I took a summer class in The Bend during high school. After enjoying my time on campus and beginning to consider the school, I couldn't help but find myself incredibly sucked in by the D-Walk game against Michigan in '04. Maybe it was the combination of pure joy and desperation over the coaching situation emanating from the stadium that day, maybe it was being mystified that Michigan couldn't figure out that D-Walk was going to bounce to the outside every time, but seeing the Gold & Blue in all its glory made me a fan for life. After that, my first two home games as a student were the MSU Flag Game and The Bush Push, I attended 9 games in person of the 2007 season and saw one win (vs. Duke), and my senior day was the loss to Syracuse. If I went through that, I don't think I'm abandoning ND anytime soon.
Justin Smith
I decided to also post a silly college age picture of myself, though I do still wear that suit anytime it's deemed even mildly appropriate. You may have seen me wearing it in years past cheering, getting people excited for the game, taking lots of pictures with ND tourist types, or puking into a sewer grate outside of the new Chipotle. I graduated from Notre Dame in 2007 with a degree in Anthropology and Gender Studies. I currently work as a vegan chef with aspirations of graduate school. I decided to also help write this blog because I was tired of wasting my best, well-researched writing and arguments about ND football on forum trolls at Rock's House.
Like James, I grew up a fan of another team, Ohio State University, where my grandfather went oh so many years ago. My first experience at Notre Dame was helping to move my sister there (class of '04), and being smuggled into the student section with her on my subsequent visit. We were playing Navy, back when we beat them, she had second row seats, and I was hooked for life. Among my other traits as an ND fan: I can proudly say that I stayed until the very end of every single home game saw in my time (even the FSU game in 2003), I have never been to The 'Backer, nor do I ever plan on going, and whenever I'm sad I watch the video of Golden Tate jumping into the MSU band set to 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'. And if you need further proof of my commitment, I offer this: the year after I graduated I bought a ticket pack off of a non-football following friend of mine who was still a student, used my old student ID, and went back to every game. Every painful, terrible, 3-9 game.
Bill Bullock
As was my tendency during my years in college at Notre Dame, I went ahead and broke convention here, using a much more recent picture of myself for this section. If you want to know what I looked like at the time, imagine what you see here, but with a ridiculous, chemically-straightened mohawk and an adult-beverage in hand at almost all times (another reason I couldn't really post any of those pictures, coincidentally). You probably noticed me as the guy dancing and yelling loudly next to the guy in the leprechaun suit before games. I carried a boombox usually. Yeah, we were
totally cool guys back then. I graduated in 2007 with a degree in Computer Science, and I am now working as an IT professional at a leading university in Chicago. I can boldly state that out of my group of friends, I am considered the least mature. However, I am the only one with a career in my chosen field of study. Take that, loser friends! Who's mature now?
True to form of a computer science major, I really wasn't that into sports when I entered college at ND. However I was in the band, and thus watched my very first game of Notre Dame football from on the field itself. This was an experience that changed everything for me. Entering the field from the same tunnel as the very players that would grace the field got me hooked harder than the homeless man who stands outside of my office and tells me he "just needs the money to get some medicine" every day. So yeah, I am a fan. I quit the band after my second year, because I wanted to watch the games with my actual friends and maybe even have a social life (gasp!), but I never strayed from my newfound fandom. I hope to bring a unique (read: really angry) perspective to being a fan-blogger. Get ready for some vitriol! I mean football!
Josh Talley
Sorry guys. No picture for now. Gotta find the right one.
Growing up, Notre Dame was "that football school somewhere on the east coast." Needless to say, I didn't follow a lot of college football. My parents weren't big fans and I moved a lot as a kid. I didn't even find out where Notre Dame was until I was a sophomore in high school when my father told me that the family was moving to Indiana because he was taking a job at Our Lady's University. To make a long story short, I ended up with a partial US-31 Education and graduated from Notre Dame in 2008 with a degree in Marketing and Film Production. I now work for WNDU, the local NBC affiliate in South Bend, as a Creative Services Producer. It keeps me close to my alma mater and makes going to games that much easier. It also leaves me as what James delightfully calls "the Inside Man."
My Irish football memories run the gamut of emotions. From storming the field my freshman year against Michigan to storming the field just before USC's non-win. I worked as a side line videographer in what was one of the worst Irish football seasons all time. In fact, there is a picture floating around somewhere of me and the Navy mascot only minutes before our winning streak came to an end. If all else fails, I'll write a book about what it was like to be a senior during the 3-9 season. I'm hoping to bring a view of Notre Dame football that few ever get. From the locker rooms and sidelines to the press box and postgame interview room. I'll cover the Irish like it's my job... because it actually is.
Joe Cronin (picture of Hannah Storm and myself on the ND sidelines)
For purposes relevant to this blog, my most distinguishing
trait from among my co-bloggers and friends is that I have been a Notre Dame
fan since I was a little tyke. My
dad went to Notre Dame, and being an Irish Catholic only furthered my full and
complete indoctrination. I have
distinct, lasting, and painful memories of the 1993 loss to BC. I was eight. Eight! People
complain that there is too much violence or sex on TV and that it harms our
children. Well, let me tell you, a
single horrific sporting spectacle has had far more of an impact on my life
than gratuitous blood, decapitations, or titties. The emotional rollercoaster of beating FSU the previous game
(I still remember the bumper-stickers: Notre Dame 31, National Champs 24) made it
all the worse. I don't want to
spend anymore time opening old wounds, but suffice to say, my very state of
being during the fall has been inexorably intertwined with the success of our
football team for as far back as I can remember. In no other sport do I have an allegiance like I do for
Notre Dame football.
Concerning myself personally outside of football, I was born
in Chicago, but spent most of my childhood moving around. I lived, in this order, in Chicago, IL;
Forth Worth, TX; Endstone, England; Upper Heyford, England; Waukesha, WI;
Schererville, IN; Notre Dame Campus; Brookfield, WI; and currently, Logan
Square in Chicago. I graduated
from Notre Dame in 2007, majoring as a science preprofessional (essentially
pre-med). However, I did not go to
med school. In my generation's
attempt to "figure things out," I wasn't sure I was taking the right path. Spurred by living at home or barely making
enough money to cover rent, I came to a decision: law school. I am currently at Loyola and entering
my second year. If you haven't
seen a post from me in a while, you can bet it has something to do with that. I look forward to voicing my insights,
jubilations and frustrations concerning the team with you readers and my
co-bloggers this fall.
