Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame Football: My Irish Fan Holiday Wishlist

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:41 p.m. ET

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It’s been such a long and disappointing year for Notre Dame football. From losing the Fiesta Bowl to becoming our head coach’s worst enemy, the Fighting Irish fans have been through a lot.

Not every part was bad. Kinda. In the few games Notre Dame won, fans didn’t mind watching. Even if it’s only four times a year, everyone loves to win.

Seeing Will Fuller, Jaylon Smith, C.J. Prosise, Ronnie Stanley, and others continue their dream on draft night is something every Irish fan hold dear to their heart. These men will always be Notre Dame stars first.

There’s been a lot of pain, though. With the expectations 2016 threw at us, everyone was excited to watch the Fighting Irish compete with the best teams in the country. College Football Playoff is the only thing anyone had on their mind before the season started. But after a 1-3 start, everyone knew the season was headed for disaster.

From there it just got worse. Brian Kelly became the most hated man in South Bend, and still should have a hard time looking fans in the eyes. It seemed 99% of Irish fans wanted him gone the second Notre Dame’s season ended. On top of it all, the Irish got blown out by USC. USC!

That’s all behind us now. The season is over, Brian Kelly isn’t being fired, and Notre Dame has now lost two quarterbacks. But hey, there’s always next year, right? Right?

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So, in the spirit of Christmas, here’s a little list. Just something I’m asking for this holiday season. If all are answered, Notre Dame could be on the path to greatness once again. Because after all, Christmas is the season for getting presents.

MAKE BRIAN KELLY TAKE THE RAMS’ JOB

Did I put that in all capital letters? Oh, I didn’t even notice. It was probably because I was yelling at my computer scream while I typed it.

Please oh please great gift giver, please make Brian Kelly the Las Angeles Rams’ next head coach. There may not be the top head coaching options out there anymore, but Notre Dame deserves better.

Kelly has been a disaster in South Bend. Even with a National Championship appearance, he’s made his time with Notre Dame nothing but a failure. When you have the recruiting classes Kelly put together, and the amount of talent already on the team, something positive has to happen. The man has had a first-round draft pick all but one year he’s been at Notre Dame!

No one can tell me the failed attempt at glory has been anyone’s fault except Kelly’s. He’s never been able to run a team and has lost almost the entire Irish fanbase after this season.

If I could have just one thing for Christmas this year, it’d be that Brian Kelly moves on to the NFL. I don’t care if he’s good in LA, or if he makes Jared Goff and Todd Gurley “The Greatest Show on Turf” part two. All I want is a new start in Notre Dame, one without Brian Kelly.

Let Brandon Wimbush be as good as he looks

I don’t know about you, but I’m thrilled Notre Dame’s quarterback next season is Brandon Wimbush. Watching this kid play in high school was looking at a man amongst boys.

He can do it all. His arm is phenomenal, he can fit a ball through almost any window, and the speed, oh the speed. Wimbush is the future of Notre Dame. With two years of learning from Malik Zaire and DeShone Kizer on his resume, he has every opportunity to step into the starting role and be incredible right out of the gate.

There’s always a lot of hype on quarterbacks, though. There’s so many great play callers who are also freakish athletes, that people tend to group them all together. If you can throw and run, you’re automatically great.

But Wimbush is more than the average player. Watching him play since his senior year in high school, you can tell he’s special. My only concern is his adaptation to college. He’s only got two games of experience and was used entirely as a running threat.

Here’s the thing, Notre Dame needs this. Us Irish fans have been promised success year after year, and have been given disappointment after disappointment. With Wimbush, the future looks bright again. Please, don’t let us be let down.

Let Jaylon Smith be Healthy

Bring world peace and food to all the poor. Like everyone else, I believe there are always people who need more than you do, no matter who you are. So please great gift giver, bring peace to this Earth.

Oh, and make Jaylon Smith the freakish athlete he once was, again. Thanks.

Everyone knows that former Notre Dame linebacker, Jaylon Smith, would have been one of the best rookies of the 2016 class if he didn’t get injured in the Fiesta Bowl last season. But, after a drop to the second-round of the 2016 draft, and missing most of this year, there’s only one thing to ask for now – Make Smith great again.

This applied to way than Notre Dame fans. This wish is for Dallas Cowboy fans and just about everyone that loves quality football.

In three years at Notre Dame, Smith recorded 284 tackles. There was no sign this tackling machine was ever going to be anything short of amazing until his knee injury. In the NFL, no one actually believes he isn’t going to be a star once he gets the chance.

So, all I’m asking for is to give him a chance. If Jaylon Smith can be healthy once again, the sky is the limit. I’m one who genuinely believes that by the time his career is over, he’ll be one of the greatest linebackers ever to play. The only thing standing in his way, one injury.

12 wins in the 2017 regular season

Everyone wants the same thing. As a football fan, no matter who you root for, you want one thing for your team, and that’s to win. Well great gift giver, bring Notre Dame 12 wins in 2017.

An undefeated year is a lot to ask for, I know. But c’mon, it’s been so long since the Fighting Irish have finished where they were expected to. Just one undefeated year would relieve so much stress among players, fans, and the coaching staff. I guarantee, no one gets fired if Notre Dame goes 12-0 next year.

Did you ever see the ‘Family Guy’ episode when Peter, Quagmire, Joe, and Cleveland find God so he can make the Patriots win again? Well, Notre Dame has a solid quarterback, one of the best rushers in the nation, an incredible receiving core, and hopefully a more experienced defense. I’m almost positive the only thing stopping them from winning is a higher power.

I mean, we deserve it. Notre Dame has been through more than just about any team in college football this season. All we want is one season to feel like Alabama. Maybe keep the games a little closer, so they aren’t as boring, but if that’s asking too much than don’t even worry about it.

A National Championship is what everyone wants, but if you put us in a situation to get there, we can’t be upset. Please, just give the Irish the season they should’ve had for the last three years.

Stop the disappointment

To sum up my entire wishlist, bring joy to South Bend. Just stop the disappoint, stop the losing, and stop the nonsense. Notre Dame is one of the most prestigious college football teams in the country, bring it back to where it’s supposed to be.

Notre Dame fans aren’t like Browns fan. We don’t forget what it’s like to win or give up on the season before it even begins. And we aren’t Golden State Warrior fans, feeling like our team just handed us the biggest slap in the face we’ve ever experienced as a sports fan.

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We’re Notre Dame fans, the people who hear all year long about the talent and potential our team has. The ones who sit through games where championship hopes are on the line, only to lose and crush our dreams.

There’s no worse feeling than knowing you’re a few weeks away from the College Football Playoff and watching your team melt away. It’s heartbreaking.

We’ve sat through an embarrassing National Championship game. A game against Florida State that was ours for only a second, just to have it ripped from our hands as we stopped celebrating a play we’ll never forget. And now this. A season that was ours for the taking, and turned into one of the most humiliating years in program history.

No one knows what we’ve been through. So, please, bring us joy. All Irish fans really want this holiday season, is the disappointment to end.

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