What's Your Excitement Level?

[NDinL.A.]

Heading into this spring and eventually the fall, what is your level of excitement regarding Notre Dame football?

* Are you in 'wait and see' mode? Have you been burned enough that you know better now than to dive right in, no matter who the coach is and what changes he has made?

* Are you off-the-chains pumped up because you are a die-hard ND fan and you are always pumped up about the team, even during the Ty years ("we're going 11-1 baby!!!")?

* Are you pumped up because you think Kelly is the right guy, and ND is on the way back to national prominence?

Personally, I'm beyond pumped because I truly think ND finally got it right. We have a proven winner, a guy who has coached college for 18 years and has won no matter where he went. We have a guy who has a system in place, and coaches in place who all have the same singular goal in mind. The things he's done already have made a huge impact, and the recruiting is starting to pick up as well. Practices have an intensity that we haven't seen around here in decades, and guys have to get after it or they'll be sitting on the pine. Brian Kelly, quite simply, is a great college football coach who only needed a stage, and now he has the biggest stage of all. And I think he's going to succeed, for sure. We FINALLY have the right guy IMO.

But honestly, there's no wrong answer here. I can see why anybody would be in wait and see mode or sublime bliss mode. Or anywhere in between.

So where are you?

 

[bert2834]

I am with you. Pumped and think we got the right guy!

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

I think I just wet myself I'm so excited....

(I'm not kidding....my pants are a swamp right now.)

 

[Rocket's Rocket Fan]

I'm with you LA. I cannot wait for the season to start.

 

[Irish4Life09]

I completely agree with you L.A.
Although we all have been burned badly ever since Holtz left, I cant help but just be completely excited about how bright our future already looks.I dont know if I've ever been this excited for ND Football in all my 15 years of being a fan.

 

[nd1988]

sorry to rain on the "parade" but my "hopes" are whatever......excited because its ND football but they always seem to let me down.....along with B-ball

 

[ACamp1900]

I have not been less excited for nd football in my life........ not b/c I dislike bk... I think it was a great hire... I just don't see much happening this year... and am tired of having my hopes shit on every year... so I'm completely in a wait and see mode

 

[IrishAlum1997]

Do you think that if BK coached UC-Santa Barbara he would have the "Banana Slug Commandments?"

Just wonderin'.

 

[IrishInFl]

I am excited for football in any form. I'm so desperate that I'm going to the garnet and gold fsu spring game April 10th. I also get to go to the Nike camp.

 

[BGIF]

Heading into this spring and eventually the fall, what is your level of excitement regarding Notre Dame football?
...

So where are you?

The level of posts on this site make it clear.

There are more posts in the Tom Izzo thread and We Love Butler thread than in the ND Spring Practice thread.

 

[nd1988]

I have not been less excited for nd football in my life........ not b/c I dislike bk... I think it was a great hire... I just don't see much happening this year... and am tired of having my hopes shit on every year... so I'm completely in a wait and see mode

Its a total different transition this year........looks like no more ball control and now the D is gonna get exhausted......then we'll lose to florida cuz............christ who knows

 

[Irish4Life09]

Its a total different transition this year........looks like no more ball control and now the D is gonna get exhausted......then we'll lose to florida cuz............christ who knows

If you go simply by numbers this is a no brainer much better coach.
Total Scoring Offense:
Cincinnati 4th in the country, ND 32nd.
Total Offense:Cincinnati was 11th in the country. Averaged more than a 100 yards more than the other teams.
Total Defense:Cincinnati was 67th(not great but not terrible) Notre Dame was I believe 82nd.
Not to mention they had 12 wins,back to back BigEast titles,and a trip to a BCS bowl(which they only lost because Kelly wasnt there.)

The REAL question...is why is anyone not excited?
We might not have a great year this year,thats not uncommon in a transition year,which we all know has happened several times the last couple decades for us.
But the energy Kelly is bringing,his personality,his all around skills,and as we can already see his recruiting talent and development are going to have us back to the top of the ladder very soon.
Yes,I know we have gotten burned a lot lately.
Davie was awful.Willingham was pathetic.Then the debacle with O'Leary.And then stable but awful Weis.
None of these guys brought any kind of excitement to the program.We just all got excited because we havnt seen success in decades,and were hoping it was the 2nd coming.
I honestly think we can be genuinely excited.And I cant wait to see the product Kelly puts on our field in the years to come.

 

[BeatSC]

If you go simply by numbers this is a no brainer much better coach.
Total Scoring Offense:
Cincinnati 4th in the country, ND 32nd.
Total Offense:Cincinnati was 11th in the country. Averaged more than a 100 yards more than the other teams.
Total Defense:Cincinnati was 67th(not great but not terrible) Notre Dame was I believe 82nd.
Not to mention they had 12 wins,back to back BigEast titles,and a trip to a BCS bowl(which they only lost because Kelly wasnt there.)

The REAL question...is why is anyone not excited?
We might not have a great year this year,thats not uncommon in a transition year,which we all know has happened several times the last couple decades for us.
But the energy Kelly is bringing,his personality,his all around skills,and as we can already see his recruiting talent and development are going to have us back to the top of the ladder very soon.
Yes,I know we have gotten burned a lot lately.
Davie was awful.Willingham was pathetic.Then the debacle with O'Leary.And then stable but awful Weis.
None of these guys brought any kind of excitement to the program.We just all got excited because we havnt seen success in decades,and were hoping it was the 2nd coming.
I honestly think we can be genuinely excited.And I cant wait to see the product Kelly puts on our field in the years to come.

I concur, if we can equal or better our offensive output we can't help but do better than last year. The D and special teams have got to be better. I think some of us just wonder how good we could be with JC and GT still in the fold. On the other hand I think it will allow BK to focus on some other under utilized talent. The D makes me nervous unless they get bigger, faster and stronger. Either way I'm bored off my ass until mid August.

 

[chadder20]

I am totally excited! I have followed BK since his days at GVSU and CMU and no matter what happens...ND will be better than last year. BK drives discipline and enthusiasm into the system and will take nothing less than a high level of play. Even though I was a CW supporter until this last year, these are three things that he never could grasp as a college football coach. CW talked the talk, but couldn't walk the walk. BK has proven he is a walker everywhere he has been! PLUS, this is a huge plus; he makes changes during the game when changes are needed!

 

[NDOM]

I'm in wait and see mode. Been let down since 1996 pretty much. Kelly is a great coach, I just dont see it being turned around so quickly so I'm gonna go with a prediction of 6-6 or 7-5. Notre Dame football is starting to kind of remind me of Detroit Lions football, The place where great talent goes and disappears.

 

[FrankMA]

With me it is wait and see. There has been way to many letdowns to get very excited. I have been burnt too many time in the last 15 years by ND football. I have to see it happen before I can get to worked up about it.

 

[ryno 24]

Pumped but I am always pumped I am not worried about next we always start out with a good first year then it usually go's down hill NExt year we are going to be good though

 

[NoTrE_dAmE_BrAhH]

i cant wait til this season starts unfortunatly i think i might be in iraq so ill be reading the games instead of watching them

 

[Colts baby!]

I'm with you, L.A. We now have a coach who knows how to motivate college age kids. Everything I read and hear about ND football makes me more and more excited. Even if we go 6-6, I think that we will be so much more fun to watch. Go Irish!!

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Okay, so I'm new here, but I have to say - for me, I am a college football fan, because of what the game represents. I listen to all the “stars and bars” comments, and have to ask, "Wouldn't it be great to just shake everything up and let things fall where it may?" I mean isn't that what college football is about, on any given Saturday? For me the reason I am a Notre Dame fan is the great tradition and that Irish Catholic, blue-collar work ethic, which is the best way I know of taking charge of the outcome on Saturday afternoons. I don't know that much, but ND has its weakest recent schedule coming up this year and reminds me the most of '64 when Ara took over. Everyone remembers '66. Remind yourself of how close he came in his first season! How can you not be excited to see BK turn everything on end! All he needs to do is find his John Huarte and Jack Snow. When he came in Alan Paige was playing fullback –

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

I haven't been as active with ND football as I have been in recent years mostly because my focus is all NHL right now. The Kings are in the playoff race for the first time in 7 years, so having games that matter this late in to March has taken up a lot of my time and energy.

However, when I do take time to focus on ND, I start getting pretty darn giddy. I am getting pumped. Once hockey season is done, I am sure my focus will go back to ND Football. I am pretty jacked about the new regime and I hope that excitement grows more and more as we get closer to September.

 

[TDHeysus]

in 'wait and see' mode

 

[kmoose]

I think the Irish will be a pretty average team, in 2010. Probably 8-4 or 9-3, losing to the 3 or 4 best teams on the schedule.

However,

I'm also very excited. I don't need ND to be in the title hunt to get excited about the season. It's the first season of the Kelly era, that's enough for me to get excited. "Being excited", to me, doesn't mean that I expect a NC caliber season. I'd be just as excited to see signs that the Irish football team is fundamentally sound, that we have some playmakers on both sides of the ball, and that there is reason to be hopeful for the future. Mostly, I'd just like to see BK and the Boys hammer the dogshit out of Pitt, and watch Mark May's smug smile disappear. I'm expecting to see a program whose arrow is pointing up, instead of being flat or pointing down. And THAT has me excited!!

 

[JughedJones]

I'm in the 'beyond pumped' and 'think we got the right guy' camp.

Can't wait to get this started, watching BK's pressers makes me want to go hit something.

 

[phork]

I think I just wet myself I'm so excited....

(I'm not kidding....my pants are a swamp right now.)

Always knew you were a Meyer/Tebow lover.

PS: Excited as hell, and definitely got the right guy. I think some of you saw Cincy get blasted by Florida and you have concerns. But let me remind you that the kids that went to Cincy always seemed to play above their level. Not a knock on them at all, back thems the facts. I don't care if ND goes 1-11 next year, as long as they beat Michigan, maybe USC as well.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Excited, but unsure

 

[Rudy89]

Im in wait and see mode. Nothing against anyone but I just felt like I learned my lesson for getting so pumped and thinking National Championship or BCS bowl victory was what was gonna happen every year under charlie. So Im in wait and see mode and my sights arent terribly high.

I dont think we are gonna go undefeated I think we will prolly have a good year but I think we will go 10-2 or 9-3.

Obviously I hope im wrong and we win a national championship and every game from now till the end of time but I just wanna wait to see how kelly does cause the super pumped I was for charlie then his run to have two Navy losses, two USC and Michigan Blowouts, and an 07 year that was DISGRACEFUL! Im just gonna see how things play out these first few years and see how we do and who we beat and how the teams we beat finish up then Ill see about Christening Kelly the savior of ND football.

Go Irish!

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

Im in wait and see mode. Nothing against anyone but I just felt like I learned my lesson for getting so pumped and thinking National Championship or BCS bowl victory was what was gonna happen every year under charlie. So Im in wait and see mode and my sights arent terribly high.

I dont think we are gonna go undefeated I think we will prolly have a good year but I think we will go 10-2 or 9-3.

Obviously I hope im wrong and we win a national championship and every game from now till the end of time but I just wanna wait to see how kelly does cause the super pumped I was for charlie then his run to have two Navy losses, two USC and Michigan Blowouts, and an 07 year that was DISGRACEFUL! Im just gonna see how things play out these first few years and see how we do and who we beat and how the teams we beat finish up then Ill see about Christening Kelly the savior of ND football.

Go Irish!

You just had to bring up '07 didn't ya? cold shiver runs down GOIRISH!!!'s spine...

 

[Riddickulous]

I think I just wet myself I'm so excited....

(I'm not kidding....my pants are a swamp right now.)

This is unbelievably disturbing.

I'm uber excited. I'm calling homer and saying 10-2 in the regular season with a BCS victory to make it 11-2.

 

[MyBrothersSchool]

Do you think that if BK coached UC-Santa Barbara he would have the "Banana Slug Commandments?"
UCSB are the Gouchos, UC Santa Cruz claims the Banana Slugs.

I'm excited, but I'm also in a wait and see mode for this first season. Too many question marks. If Crist isn't healthy then the season could be sour.