1966 - That Says It All

The October 4 edition of Sports Illustrated escaped my attention for a few weeks, but I came across it over the weekend. When reading SI, I'm sort of compulsive about how I ingest my weekly sports update - I flip through the photographs that make up the first few pages, then Faces in the Crowd, and finally Sign of the Apocalypse, before moving on the articles. This particular week, I never made it to the Boise State cover piece. Here's what the Sign of the Apocalypse segment read:

A South Bend sports radio host last week suggested that the heart attack suffered by Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio after his team upset Notre Dame on Sept. 18 was God's way of paying the Spartans back for a controversial last-second touchdown on a fake field goal that cost the Irish the game.

I wish I could laugh and move on at the ridiculousness of the statement. Granted, this was one idiot radio host spewing verbal diarrhea, and he hardly represents your average ND fan, or anyone associated with the program. But, behind every spouting-off statement is a small element of truth (and no, the truth is not that God was exacting his revenge in case anyone is confused about that one). This little snippet encapsulates the reasons behind years of indignation I felt towards the pious hypocrisy of the House That Rockne Built. I admit it, I'm making too big of a deal out of something rather silly, but sometimes, as a little kid, I wanted to stand up and scream, "I'm not a worse Christian for cheering for the Spartans!". But, alas, I'm all grown up now and I've got better things to say. If we are talking about righteous revenge here, I have my own version...Revenge, you say? It's a dish best served in BCS rankings - MSU #7; ND - hmmm, can't seem to find 'em in the top 25.