Notre Dame Football: Stick with Tradition or Get With The Times?

Notre Dame football has become a recognizable brand because of its great history and tradition. But is it time for a change to Notre Dame’s iconic look?

The Notre Dame Football program has seen some changes in the last few years. In 2014, field turf was installed for the first time in the stadium’s history. That wasn’t bad, but the interlocking monogram “ND” on the 50 yard line drew plenty of debate from fans.

Field turf over natural grass isn’t a huge change. It was probably a practical change, especially given the condition of the natural grass in later years. Plus with non-football events at the stadium in recent years (graduations, concerts and hockey games) it helps keep the field in pristine condition.

The interlocking ND at the 50 yard line is something that although I have gotten used to, I’m still not a fan of, and I’m not alone on that. It’s taken some getting used to, but to most traditionalist Notre Dame fans, it’s out of place and doesn’t belong.

Recently, I was listening to a podcast where one of the hosts said he didn’t like the lines in the end zone and suggested that maybe it’s time to change that. Is it really time for a change?

The lines in the end zones aren’t just there to be there: there’s meaning behind it. Per the press release at the time of installation, there are 9 in each end zone, pointing towards both the Golden Dome and Basilica at a 42 degree angle. That’s 18 lines at 42 degrees, and if 18 and 42 sound like they go together for some reason, that’s because 1842 was the year Notre Dame was founded.

Even during bowl games, seeing “Notre Dame” or “Fighting Irish” painted in blue and gold in the end zone just doesn’t look right.

Notice when the New York Yankees built the new Yankee Stadium, they tried to keep everything similar to the old stadium. There’s a reason for that.

That got me thinking: what about the uniforms?

Following the switch to Under Armor from Adidas, Notre Dame has seen quite a few different uniforms  (albeit for one game a season) during the Shamrock Series. These uniforms range from great (Boston College in 2015) to not good at all (2012 vs Miami.)

It was just another part of tradition being broken that people either loved or hated. Some want it back, others think it never should have happened.

I’d rather stick with the classics–maybe make the helmet a little more gold like they’ve done in recent years. I don’t think there’s a reason to ever put a leprechaun or shamrock whatever they were trying to pull off in 2016 on the helmets. And while we’re on the topic of the 2016 Shamrock Series uniforms, there’s also no reason Notre Dame should be wearing olive green.

The traditional green like they wore in 1977 or 2005, or even 2015 are perfectly fine. It just has to be in the right big game or rivalry situation. Save it for when USC comes to town. Put it away for Michigan.

Certain uniforms should be left alone. Alabama, Penn State, Michigan and Florida State are among those teams. Notre Dame is right there with them.

But it’s not me the athletic department is trying to cater to: it’s the recruits.

Recruits seem to be attracted to (and it’s hard to disagree with them) to the flashy uniforms. Part of the intrigue with Oregon and Baylor for a while was their uniforms. (Please don’t misconstrue that into me saying that’s the only reason they were successful.)

The counterpoint to that is I think we’d all like to think recruits would be more drawn to an education, coach, chance to win titles and overall program. All things that will set the tone for their next 40 years, rather than what they’d be wearing for 4 hours on a Saturday.

With Notre Dame being such a polarizing program, I don’t think catering to what everyone and changing just for the sake of change is a good idea. It’s not one of those things where when someone asks “why can’t it change?” the answer is “I don’t know, because it’s always been that way.”

There’s history, tradition, legendary happenings and reason behind everything in the Notre Dame program. Leave uniform and stadium changes to baseball and basketball.

For the most part, they’ve done a good job staying true to who they are and blending the past with the future.

Would you change other things on campus? Would you add a second and third floor to the Hesburgh Library, and make Touchdown Jesus bigger? Would you paint the Golden Dome white? Then why should the stadium and uniforms be any different?