The Valpo Core Reader
 

Authors

Jim Pomeroy

Document Type

Narrative Essay

Publication Date

1996

Excerpt

An interesting phenomena occurs when a true sports fan finds a team which he calls his own. At that moment they are immediately joined together in a bond whose strength is unmatchable, one comparable to that in marriage. When the team wins, the fan wins, and when the team loses, the fan loses. The selected team has no say in the matter; it is instantaneously joined at the hip with the fan. This occurrence happened to me about third grade, when I watched a Notre Dame football game with my grandfather. I had seen college football games before, but had never seen this team. The Fighting Irish, with their golden helmets and that small man they called "the Coach," seemed to me to be the greatest football team on the face of the earth. Since that time Notre Dame has become like a religion for me. I know more about Notre Dame and its tradition in football than I know about my own high school or any college. Anything affiliated with Notre Dame University instantly finds favor with me, even their basketball team, which cannot seem to have a winning season. It does not matter, though, for the true fan stands by his team through the thick and the thin. That small man, the coach of the Notre Dame football team, in his first year in that position, would soon become part of the phenomenon, and one of the greatest men I have ever met.

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