Several high-profile sports commentators have turned on Notre Dame football and are asking why they keep getting so much TV time and press notice when they haven’t won a national title in nearly 40 years.
The slams on the Fighting Irish came after the College Football Playoff officially expanded to 12 teams for the coming college football season.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith led the attack on Notre Dame by wondering why the team is always the constant focus of media discussions and why they keep getting lucrative TV deals to air their games, the New York Post reported.
“They have not won a national title since 1988. That is 36 years,” Smith explained. “Thirty-six years ago, doggie, I was graduating from high school. I had an afro. [My] hairline was two feet forward.”
Stephen A. Smith is trying to figure out why Notre Dame is relevant.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 21, 2024
"They have not won a national title since 1988. That is 36 years. 36 years ago, doggie, I was graduating from high school. I had an afro, [my] hairline was two feet forward." pic.twitter.com/AGiQkBMcmy
Smith went on to ask why everyone focuses on Notre Dame when they haven’t delivered for decades.
“What the hell have they done? We are on national television?” he asked as he pointed out that Notre Dame is seen on TV more than Georgia, which had a far better record last season.
“Everywhere you look, we talkin Notre Dame. You got them on national television,” Smith noted. “Has anybody questioned NBC as to why you gave them this television deal? What have they done? What have they done? I’m still waiting.”
Sports commentator Dave Portnoy also piled on and agreed wholeheartedly with Smith.
“Stephen A is dead ass right. ND is a relic of the past,” Portnoy wrote on X. “They were good in the 1800s with the Four Horse Horseman and Knute Rockne. But I don’t care about ancient history. You need to have won a natty before the days of the horse and buggy to be considered a premier program.”
Stephen A is dead ass right. ND is a relic of the past. They were good in the 1800's with the Four Horse Horseman and Knute Rockne. But I don't care about ancient history. You need to have won a natty before the days of the horse and buggy to be considered a premiere program. https://t.co/DoYyxjCXc1
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) February 21, 2024
While it is true that Notre Dame has not taken home a national title in a very long time, the team is frequently in the hunt for the championship. ND won the Sun Bowl over Oregon State, 40-8 last season. The school also posted a 10-3 record for the 2023 season.
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