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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Nightmare for Notre Dame ends a dream season for Fighting Irish -- Heavy hearts but heads held high after remarkable year

Posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2013 at 07:22 AM

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Nightmare end to the season for Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame team

Miami: In the end the dream season ended in a nightmare for Notre Dame, but the fans in Sun Life stadium in North Miami were still resilient despite the beating.

“Think how bad we’ve been for so many years,” said the woman from Virginia beside me as the Alabama juggernaut rolled over and crushed the Irish. “We made the national title game, that is amazing.’

True, but we had somehow convinced ourselves the stars had aligned and an incredible victory was at hand.

But as Daniel Patrick Moynihan noted, to be Irish is to know the world will break your heart.

There were a lot of broken hearts but no real complaints in Miami on Monday.

A journey that began in Dublin in September with a win over Navy took Irish fans on a magic carpet ride that finally crashed to earth on a humid night in Miami.

The refereeing decisions in the critical early plays went against Notre Dame, but even if they had got every bounce of the ball it would not have been enough.

It seemed like men against boys at times and the Irish faithful so boisterous, so upbeat, so hopeful at the start were soon reduced to shocked silence as Alabama moved the ball at will. The crimson tide proved unstoppable.

Read more: Fighting Irish crusade crushed by the Crimson Tide 42-14 in BCS National Championship

It was clear from the beginning that the Irish fan base were more energized. This was not Alabama’s first rodeo and their fans were far less boisterous in the pre-game cheering sections.

They were like the Yankees in baseball, they expect to be playing for national championships every year.

The Irish certainly do not. The long drought since the mid 80s seemed interminable. The pent-up demand for Irish success was never more evident, the dream of a national championship no mirage as the season advanced with win after win.

Earlier, the Notre Dame tailgate party in Miami Beach was a celebration of a remarkable year. 10,000 fans paid $75 dollars a head to wine and dine, bask in the Florida sun, reminisce and brag and talk about the big game. The atmosphere was electric, the anticipation total. The shattering disappointment to come was still unseen.

So defeat was utterly devastating.

We trudged out of Sun Life Stadium late in the fourth quarter, heads down and spirits sagged but the disappointment will lift. As the lady from Virginia noted, the Irish have come a long way and the road back was always bound to have many turns. But the Fighting Irish made their fans proud from Dublin to South Bend and beyond.

Alas, it was not a championship season but it was a wonderful year. See more: Fighting Irish

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Redneck56 | Jan 08, 2013, 05:35 PM EST

Anybody that knows American college football know ND had no business being ranked #1 in the nation (even though they were undefeated) nor had they any business being in that bowel. The BCS ranking system is a joke. I'd much rather go back to what we used to have and split the national championship once in a while than have the joke of a system we have now !!

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joan1954 | Jan 08, 2013, 05:21 PM EST

Yes ND has a right to hold its head held high after last nights game. But, The Tide is an honorable team and rightly so. They are looing 14 seniors of whom nine were starters and the rest may well be back so there will be more of the Tide for the next three years. I hope Bear Bryant was looking down.

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Opoets99 | Jan 08, 2013, 03:25 PM EST

Notre Dame is a joke. If they were in the SEC they would have lost half their games. This is the reason we need a playoff.

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saraindc | Jan 08, 2013, 01:50 PM EST

if you only watched 7 mins of it brianmack then how can you make a statement the game was horrific! not a smart comment really now is it!! regardless of the fact that the best team won on the day, the irish have played some great football and they will again - thats the great thing about sport - you keep trying and you play on!!

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JimmieM | Jan 08, 2013, 12:08 PM EST

They should have brought out the Green uniforms...works every time...

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PhlutiePhan | Jan 08, 2013, 11:17 AM EST

@Nicopernicus: You have the problem in a nutshell. Bama outclassed ND on the field of battle. However, you know as well as I that the "Roll Tide" mantra is never shouted in a classroom much less even in the laundry room. The NCAA except for a few like ND, Vanderbilt, Duke, and Navy are professional football teams.

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Dublinborn | Jan 08, 2013, 10:53 AM EST

Delighted to see a Southern State beat the fake Irish. Its all political just ask the fake NY Jets

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YellerBelly | Jan 08, 2013, 10:24 AM EST

Great article Niall! The Irish should keep their heads up knowing that many seniors from this amazing team are returning with a draft class ranked number one in the country. GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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brianmack | Jan 08, 2013, 09:15 AM EST

Game was beyond horrific! I turned it off after seven minutes. It was like watching a High School team play against the pro's. The best post season game, both pro and college was watching Manziel. He most definitely should have won the Heismann.

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wjb1tex | Jan 08, 2013, 09:01 AM EST

What, no complaints about Manziel winning the Heismann instead of Te'o ? Anybody who saw Manziel against Alabama at Alabama and then in the Cotton Bowl would have to be a little bit biased to think that. I think Te'o was mentioned last night only when he missed yet another tackle.

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Kabala0957 | Jan 08, 2013, 08:36 AM EST

Notre Dame was not that good. Alabama and SEC is the best football league, period.

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Nicopernicus | Jan 08, 2013, 08:25 AM EST

Sounds good...Now get back to class.

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