Notre Dame Opting Out Of A Bowl Game Reveals Two Coexisting Truths
Bowl games don't matter, but perception does.
We've never lived in a more reactionary world, and with that has come this perceived reality that there is one right opinion, and every other one is dead wrong. You pick a side, you stick with that side, and you bash the other, but now and again, we're presented with scenarios where there is more than one truth, and the situation surrounding Notre Dame football is exactly that.
The Fighting Irish were left out of the College Football Playoff after finishing the season 10-2, with the Playoff committee's decision proving the point that games matter. Notre Dame lost at Miami 27-24 in Week 1 of the season, which ultimately pushed the 10-2 Hurricanes over the line and into the 12-team Playoff.
As the debate about whether Notre Dame or Miami is more deserving of a spot in the Playoff continues to rage, the Fighting Irish issued a statement on Sunday explaining that they have withdrawn their name from consideration for a bowl game this postseason.
While Notre Dame passing on a bowl game mirrors a child taking their ball and going home, there are two truths here.
Notre Dame said no thanks to a bowl game after being left out of the CFB Playoff. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images)
The Fighting Irish come across as sore losers, and the decision goes entirely against their perceived brand, but also, bowl games are completely pointless for programs of Notre Dame's stature.
The Irish, their fanbase, administration, coaching staff, and donors do not and should not care if they win the Pop-Tart Bowl or Citrus Bowl. Sure, a bowl game would be another opportunity for players to suit up one more time, but it is Playoff or bust for Notre Dame. That has long been the case for the Irish and a handful of other programs around the country, and the Irish declining bowl invites only solidifies that mindset.
That is a truth based on facts, while the other focuses more on opinion.
Notre Dame is supposed to be ‘the standard’ of college football. Whether you believe that to be the case is up to you, but the brand of Notre Dame has long been seen as an example for the rest of the sport to admire.
It is a private, Catholic university built on history, tradition, and, as cliché as it sounds, seen as a molder of men.
Those men saying they aren't going to spot the ball against another opponent, one they see as inferior, because they lost two games during the regular season and missed out on the Playoff, goes against that perceived standard they've built over decades.
Bowl games do not matter, but that doesn't mean iconic programs in the sport get to pass on them and not get criticized for doing so because their feelings got hurt at the end of the season.