Most of the luster has faded and the invincibility is gone, but for many young men, playing football at Notre Dame is still a dream.
Stepping on the to field at 18-years-old, masterfully engineering the game plan and leading the Irish to its first defeat of a ranked team in four years is a whole different thought. And that is exactly what freshman and Lake Forest, IL native Tommy Rees did last Saturday inside Notre Dame Stadium.
By Brian McCabe
All of the clichรฉs apply to his performance, for he was, indeed, cool, calm and collected. His numbers donโt jump off the page like Ron Powlusโ did after his first start, but everyone knows how that story ends.
Under as much adversity as imaginable and against the 14th-ranked Utah Utes, the freshman QB completed 13 passes for 129 and three scores. He did exactly what was needed to control the offense and help win the game.
Rees is one of three true freshmen on Notre Dameโs roster. Andrew Hendrix and Luke Massa are the others, both of whom were ranked higher nationally in recruiting by Rivals.com than Rees was at No. 31. However, it is Rees that is playing.
Rees comes to Notre Dame ranked much lower than many before him. Jimmy Clausen was ranked No. 1 in 2007, Brady Quinn was ranked 10th in 2003 and this yearโs original starter, Dayne Crist, was ranked 2nd in 2008.
However, performance on the field is much more important than some arbitrary number created by a panel of experts. Just ask one of this yearโs Heisman candidates Kellen Moore, who like Rees was ranked 31st coming out of high school in 2007.
Notre Dame was a football mecca for decades, especially for those boys who grew up as fans. The Irish were Chicagoโs local college football team with Northwestern toiling away, and also the nationโs Catholic University. Itโs own version of โAmericaโs Team.โ
Though these statements barely hold water with the nation as a whole anymore, many young men still dream of running out of that tunnel and onto the field just as the thousands before them have. Rees is probably one of those.
With the birth of new cable networks, like the Big Ten Network, and ESPNโs expansive programming, fans have so many more choices than they once did. With losing season piling on top of losing season, Notre Dame might be forfeiting its once unbeatable fan base, especially in the Midwest.
Northwestern has been winning consistently during the past decade, and will play a a game at Wrigley Field this weekend. Their matchup with Illinois is drawing so much attention, including a live broadcast from ESPNโs College Gameday, that many people have forgotten the Irish are playing Army at Yankee stadium the same day. This thought would have been unbelievable years ago.
Notre Dame still has its contract with NBC and an aura that just wonโt seem to ever go away entirely. There is still an allure and a pull to the University, especially once somebody steps on campus. The Irish and their fans hope this can be enough to help the team finally return to its winning ways.
A local product from Chicago might just be exactly what can help make this happen. And itโs hard to imagine that anyone is more excited about that prospect than Rees.
