Fifty years ago, on Nov. 30, 1974, my dad took my 7-year-old sister and me to the Los Angeles Coliseum to see Notre Dame play football against the University of Southern California. My dad had been a USC fan since his college days when a fellow midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy convinced him that the Trojans were the greatest of the college-football greats.
At age 4, and always the contrarian, I was cheering for the Fighting Irish. I boasted a big smile as Notre Dame stormed out to a 24-6 first-half lead. But then USC came back—and quickly. They scored so much that I began to cry my eyes out toward the end of the third quarter, begging my dad to get us out of the noisiest of stadiums. We began to exit—but only briefly.
As we walked out of the tunnel, USC scored again, and the crowd roared. My dad turned us around, not keen on missing the fun. We stayed to the very end, which included USC’s band playing its victory march, “Conquest,” and lots of “woo-woo-woo-woohing” from fans. Final score: 24-55.
This Saturday, my dad, sister and I will take my 8-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son to the Coliseum for the same match-up. We’re breaking the tradition ever so slightly: My mother will join us too, largely because she’s still mad she didn’t attend the first outing. We will sit in seats provided by my dad’s Naval Academy classmate, a generous USC donor and fan.
The game itself lacks some of the grandeur of the past. USC is having a bleak year—it has a record of 6-5 and no chance at a playoff seed—while Notre Dame is ranked No. 5 and well-positioned for a playoff spot. Still, it would be hard for anyone to disagree that the rivalry is one of college football’s best.
Beyond the famous coaching names such as Knute Rockne, Howard Jones, Ara Parseghian, John McKay, Lou Holtz and Pete Carroll, there is much to recommend both teams. There’s the national championships (11 each), the Heisman Trophy winners (USC is No. 1 all time with eight and Notre Dame has seven), the National Football League draft picks (Notre Dame is No. 1 all time and USC No. 2), Notre Dame’s leprechaun mascot and Traveler, USC’s statuesque horse that circles the field after each touchdown. There’s so much history. It’s what makes the game so special.
Tradition is what gives college football life. My story is one that millions of others can tell not only about Notre Dame vs. USC, but also Texas vs. Oklahoma, Auburn vs. Alabama, Ohio State vs. Michigan and others.
The worry among many fans is that the sport’s executives are trampling on the tradition with transfer portals, name-image-and-likeness deals, and playoffs. Notre Dame isn’t aspiring only for a treasured New Year’s Day bowl game; it aims for a slot in an National Football League-style bracket, with games extending into the new year.
As USC is now part of the Big 10—traditionally a midwestern conference—there’s even talk of the Trojans discontinuing their rivalry with Notre Dame. The change is supposedly all about business, but all decisions are business decisions. Sometimes they’re bad.
