Notre Dame vs. Michigan…in Rome?
By Bobby Norell
Notre Dame against Michigan….in Rome? PLEASE NO.
Earlier today Pete Sampson of Irish Illustrated tweeted that Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick expressed that future Shamrock Series games will be opponent driven. He then tweeted that head coach Brian Kelly wants to get Michigan back on the schedule ASAP. Sampson then speculated that Notre Dame playing Michigan in Rome, Italy is a real possibility.
Jack Swarbrick says future Shamrock Series will be more driven by the opponent. Brian Kelly says he wants to play Michigan. So 1+1 = ...
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) June 10, 2016
Is this a good idea?
I don’t know about you, but I would not be a fan of this. Yes playing a big time opponent like a Michigan in Rome would do wonders to the “Notre Dame brand”, and it would get everyone talking about the game even more so. But wasting a home against Michigan in Rome would be terrible. If I’m Notre Dame and I’m playing Michigan at home I want to be playing in my backyard with 80,000+ of my fans behind me. I want a raucous, deafening crowd making it impossible for Michigan to hear. If you played this game in Rome, you’re not getting that type of crowd.
If you’ve been to any of the Shamrock Series, or any “home away from home” game for that matter, you’ll notice that the crowd isn’t anything close to what it would be if it was at Notre Dame Stadium. I’ve been the Shamrock Series games in Indianapolis and Chicago, and it was much more of a ho-hum atmosphere.
I’m actually dead serious. But in this case, the off-campus site would be Rome, Italy.
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) June 10, 2016
The re-addition of Michigan to the schedule probably wouldn’t happen until 2018/’19 at the earliest. So this would not be happening anytime soon.
Next: Why Notre Dame Should Never Play Michigan Again
As of now this Michigan game in Rome idea is just a far off idea. It’s all speculation at this point, but I plead Notre Dame not to do this, not even consider it.