Blogpoll roundtable No. 4

Here is my response to the latest Blogpoll roundtable. Head over to The Blue-Gray Sky to read what other pollers had to say.

1. Who are your rival(s)? I smell a conspiracy. I think this line of questioning is just an excuse for hundreds of BGS readers to write “BC is not our rival!” My response: “doth protest too much.” BC-ND doesn’t have the long-running history of other rivals, but it does have many important elements: student bodies and alumni networks that are very similar and have overlap outside of the schools, a unique feature (the last two Catholic schools playing IA football), a few memorable moments and most importantly bad blood. I’ve already given my perspective on the past, present and future of this rivalry, but thought I would expound on one aspect that the guys at BGS asked about -- pranks. Since there is little to do in South Bend on a Friday night, Notre Dame still holds good, old-fashioned pep rallies. In the fall of 1997, my drunken roommate stumbled upon the rally and did what until then was unthinkable -- he heckled the fans and speakers. He was shouted out and didn’t think much of it until it made the papers, was mentioned as a motivating factor by the players and Bob Davie and generally pissed off Irish fans. This was the start of a mini-tradition of BC players and fans being generally rude and obnoxious on any trip to South Bend. They can look down on us and demand to take us off their schedule, but with every little piece of turf we take and with every BC win, the rivalry becomes more heated.

2. Size up your chances in your rival games this year. Ugh. We’re in a new conference and not playing Notre Dame. Can someone talk Holy Cross into returning to Division IA?

3. If you could start up a new rivalry with another team, who would it be? BC fans are going to hate me for this, but I honestly think we should play UConn every year. Their litigious ways and slanderous comments during the Big East split makes it unlikely we will ever play them again, but I think it would make a good rivalry based on location and the fact that BC fans, in general, hate Uconn fans. Never has a nice run in chick hoops generated so much arrogance in a school and its fanbase. Talk to a UConn fan and you would think that their school is better than Harvard and has the athletic potential, success and history of Notre Dame, Alabama, UCLA, Michigan, Tennessee and Kansas combined. To sum it up, I would enjoy kicking their teeth in every year.

4. Overall, what do you think the best rivalry in college football is? No game consistently combines the history, passion and relevance to the national scene like Michigan-Ohio State. Plus you know it was Jim Tressel who trashed Michigan in The Sporting News preview.

5. Lastly, game trophies. What are the best and worst rivalry trophies out there? I love Paul Bunyan's Axe. It’s always funny to see uninsured, unpaid young athletes run around like crazy with sharp things. Worst rivalry trophy: the Maloof Trophy (New Mexico-New Mexico State). The trophy is not that embarrassing, but if you are going to win something from the Maloofs, wouldn’t you rather have courtside seats for the Kings, or a night in the Real World Suite at the Palms? A trophy? Couldn’t they at least arrange for Trishelle or Peja Stojakovic to hand over the trophy at the post game ceremony? No Maloof-related celebs…that’s gotta be a letdown for the players.