Notre Dame Football: Remembering the Chicken Soup Game

Looking back on the 1979 Cotton Bowl, when Joe Montana fought of the flu by eating chicken soup in the locker room to lead Notre Dame Football to victory.

Today, Joe Montana is remembered as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. It’s because of that NFL career that his time as the quarterback of this Notre Dame Football program is often overlooked, but he did have a great career in South Bend.

Of course, it didn’t help that Montana had to fight to start in 1977’s National Championship season, even watching from the bench as the Irish lost to Ole Miss in that championship season.

When Montana was starting, he never did make a huge impact as a passer. The 1978 season saw him complete a mere 54% of passes for ten touchdowns and nine interceptions. Yes, it was a different era for quarterbacks, but it’s still hard to say those are impressive. However, Montana did make it clear he was two things at Notre Dame, he was a winner and he was tough.

In 1978 he proved this, leading the Irish to the Cotton Bowl against Houston. Today, that Cotton Bowl Game is known simply as the Chicken Soup Game.