Doesn't It seem ESPN had agenda VS Notre Dame

[BestBIrish47]

I am not one to feel like a victim, I am actually the opposite personality type..but it does seem that ESPN goes out of their way to down grade our program. As much as I watch ESPN, I can only imagine how many potential recruits are watching as well. Lou Holtz and Herbsteit are the only people who seem to give us respect. Personally I am not looking for them to hype us, or promote us any more than a standard football program...but when the opposite message is being sent I have a problem with it. Is it NBC vs ABC politics... are they using the either you love them or hate them polarizing strategy? I understand it is about ratings but come on, it is getting obvious that to ESPN, bashing the Irish seems to be on the Business plan! What are some of your thoughts?

Billy from Texas

 

[Irishknight1023]

That's because they got all kinds of crap for overhyping us up last year and now doing the opposite extreme. There is no happy medium with them. Herbsteit is the only guy without any bias or anti any team.

 

[BestBIrish47]

I know there is probably another thread for this one, and sorry MODS in advance...But Mark May is a Cockwad. Alpha Beta Cockwada.. he joins Urban, Zook, and Carrol as chair members! Espn puts him and Holtz together, knowing the Irish fans adore Lou and Irish haters think he is a crazy old guy.

 

[GoIrish41]

I am not one to feel like a victim, I am actually the opposite personality type..but it does seem that ESPN goes out of their way to down grade our program. As much as I watch ESPN, I can only imagine how many potential recruits are watching as well. Lou Holtz and Herbsteit are the only people who seem to give us respect. Personally I am not looking for them to hype us, or promote us any more than a standard football program...but when the opposite message is being sent I have a problem with it. Is it NBC vs ABC politics... are they using the either you love them or hate them polarizing strategy? I understand it is about ratings but come on, it is getting obvious that to ESPN, bashing the Irish seems to be on the Business plan! What are some of your thoughts?

Billy from Texas

Never really noticed, but now that you mention it

 

[GoshenGipper]

Is it NBC vs ABC politics... are they using the either you love them or hate them polarizing strategy? I understand it is about ratings but come on, it is getting obvious that to ESPN, bashing the Irish seems to be on the Business plan!

I think it's largely driven by these two factors. Although I wonder if that'll change to some degree if ESPN Radio manages to get the contract to broadcast ND games after this year.

 

[DaLastFarleyite]

I watched the College segment over the weekend. Mark May will hopefully have to eat his words. He said, "Mark my words, they will win one, maybe two, of their first eight games."

Kept on harping on the nine game bowl losing streak. That's okay, because it's a fact, but I wish they say how many bowl winners we beat in the regular season. He has absolutely no balance to any of his comments about ND. Of course, neither does Lou, so maybe that's the balance. LOL

 

[Irishman10]

I think this idea of ESPN hating ND are way overblown. Mark May is clearly not an ND fan but I dont think the network as a whole has anything agains the Irish.

 

[Irish Legend]

I think this idea of ESPN hating ND are way overblown. Mark May is clearly not an ND fan but I dont think the network as a whole has anything agains the Irish.

Name another ESPN analyst besides Herbstreet and Holtz that has never bashed ND....can't think of one can ya?

 

[irish4ever]

Name another ESPN analyst besides Herbstreet and Holtz that has never bashed ND....can't think of one can ya?

Lee Corso? Just kidding!

 

[irish4ever]

Lee Corso? Just kidding!

Oooppps! You said analyst, not dumbass! My bad for not reading it thoroughly.

 

[Irishman10]

Name another ESPN analyst besides Herbstreet and Holtz that has never bashed ND....can't think of one can ya?

Because they bash ND on occasion it doesnt mean they are out to get us or that some conspiracy exists, that's simply ridiculous. Maybe they bash ND because they were being honest, you cant expect a sports analyst to be all roses about any team all the time.

 

[BestBIrish47]

I am not talking about a conspiracy, that would be stretching it I think. But opinions and statistics can be given in ways to gain favor, or disdain. This is a common practice from business, politics to sports. The facts are that we haven't won a Bowl game in 9 contests. But like most major programs we play a game with bowl like atmosphere 5 times a year. Everyone gears up to play the Irish. All I am looking for out of ESPN is a leveling off of Pro Irsh, Anti Irish information. Our last two seasons have been a success no matter who looks at it. How many teams in college football would take 9-3 10-3 seasons back to back with avg at best recruiting classes, top notch academic requirements, oh and by the way very little off field issues. ESPN seems to support the same schools that these negative behaviors come from....the same behaviors that they now are ralling against in the NFL!

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

That's because they got all kinds of crap for overhyping us up last year and now doing the opposite extreme. There is no happy medium with them. Herbsteit is the only guy without any bias or anti any team.

College Football needs ND...and is better with it. Given that, if they have to say good or negative things this year, they will tend to go negative. The team is mostly new and expectations are LOW. SOOOOOO...break ND down and if they outperform, they are a cinderella story. ESPN loves a Cinderella story.

 

[GoshenGipper]

Because they bash ND on occasion it doesnt mean they are out to get us or that some conspiracy exists, that's simply ridiculous. Maybe they bash ND because they were being honest, you cant expect a sports analyst to be all roses about any team all the time.

No, it's not. However, when you go out of your way to plan a whole show, and a national poll about ND's elite status, or lack there of in their opinion, I would think that might just qualify.

 

[DjonesIRISH!]

I love how May follows up the Clausen/Mallet question with a "they haven't even taken a snap in college yet!" with a little gem about how much bigger faster stronger Mallet is and how he is going to be a lot better. I'm surprised Mark's in depth analysis didn't include the fact that Mallet has the ground speed of a two toed sloth.

 

[grantphilly]

Name another ESPN analyst besides Herbstreet and Holtz that has never bashed ND....can't think of one can ya?

peter gammons

 

[mlcspinner]

May hates ND will alway hate ND, and he will never change

 

[rockne19]

i cant wait until mark may and the rest of those jask a$$'s eat their words!

 

[NDboy15]

We'll just make them look like idiots in January.

 

[weisfaninmass]

once the irish win consistently against top 10 this will change overnight

 

[portlaNDgal]

I think ESPN, owned by ABC, sees ND with its NBC contract as a competitor. They have a bigger stage than ND/NBC, and they use it to tell their audience that their product is better than NBC's product. I think that is part of the reason they bashed Quinn and glorified Troy Smith during the Heisman race. For the rest, I think ND bashing has just gotten to be a habit, and they are just not very original.

 

[SillyIrish]

This argument bores me so much. Once ND comes into a season not overrated and wins then we'll see. But ESPN ran a huge piece on JC commiting and was hyping ND big time last year for the number one spot in the preseason.

 

[kickerbg31]

What it comes down to is this. Pro-Notre Dame programming equals ratings. Anti-Notre Dame programming equals ratings.

Do I think people at ESPN have a personal vendetta against Notre Dame? No. (With the exception of Mark May.) ESPN can do a segment about ducks and geese and ND fans will watch it as long as those ducks and geese are in St. Mary's Lake. It really makes no sense to me that everyone gets so worked up about a bias at ESPN. They show just as much pro-ND stuff; we all just focus on the bad things they say.

 

[NDboy15]

Today they basicly said JC cant throw this year.

 

[OCIrish]

For us to even have a thread means that we're talking about ESPN. That's the ultimate goal for today's market: ratings. They don't care if we like them or if we hate them. They know if we're talking or discussing them, then sure as shit, we're tuning in to see what they say about us next. I stopped tuning in after May gave his candyass prediction about us losing 6 or 7 of our first 8 games. He's a huge tool, who wouldn't know what a good time was if it was sitting on his face, but that's for another discussion. I generally don't get riled up over what most of them have to say, May, Cowherd, Corso, look at most of their predictions and what their job descriptions are at ESPN, it's all about ratings. Relax, have a few cold ones and remember, it's only TV. Oh, one more thing, if you really think about it, we're the Yankees of the CFB world, you either love us, or you hate us, as another poster stated, people tune in to find out if they're loving us, or they tune in to find out if they're hating us. I prefer them hating us, I get a huge kick out of just what kind of ass Mark May can make out of him. Since Lou is there, I'm sure Lou has pointed out more than a few times that he's forgotten more about football than Mark May will ever know.



Go Irish!!!!!

 

[BestBIrish47]

My original post was reflecting the influence the Hating us card has on potential recruits. I agree with OC on this one, but never the less, I still swear at the TV everytime that Turd Sandwich May bashes us!

 

[IrishAlum1997]

Just got my ESPN the Magazine College Football Preview Issue today, and they gloat on the cover that only 3 pages are devoted to USC. Yet Notre Dame does not even get a paragraph (I didn't see a mention, for that matter). No Demise of the Dome or nuthin'.

Hard-ons. Good thing I didn't pay for that subscription.

 

[NDboy15]

I didnt pay for mine ethier, and I'm glad too.