Wake Forest Factoids

Wake Forest was founded as a private Baptist school in 1834.  It started out on a 600 acre plantation in Wake County North Carolina in an area called Forest of Wake.  So now you have how they got their name.

Notre Dame was founded as a private Catholic men’s school in 1842.  They are not called South Bend.

The current President of Wake Forest is Dr. Nathan O. Hatch a former provost and professor of history at the University of Notre Dame.  Mmmm.  Guess you know how this matchup came about.

Exciting, wild and crazy Wake Forest event:  In the predawn hours of April 18, 1978, students affixed a large Mickey Mouse to the 10-foot diameter clock face of Wait Chapel facing the Quad.  Wow, those wild and crazy Baptists! 

When the Demon Deacons pull off a major athletic feat, the students “Roll the Quad”. 

 We suspect they have never been around Notre Dame tailgating.  They will get their wish next year.

Originally, Wake Forest’s athletic teams were known as the Fighting Baptists.  However, in 1923, after a particularly impressive win against the Duke Blue Devils, a newspaper reporter wrote that the Deacons “fought like Demons” giving rise to the current name, Demon Deacons.  Thus the name eventually stuck.  Too bad, we would rather have the matchup: Baptists and Irish Fight.

The Wake Forest undergraduate population is 4,564.  Gee when was the last time we played a non-academy school with a student population that small?

The venue, BB&T Field seats 31,500.  Wow, Cartier Field holds more doesn’t it?

Oh well.  Here Goes.  Go Irish!  Beat the Demon Deacons.

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Ethan Johnson and His Nagging High Ankle Sprain

Denard Robinson Meets Ethan Johnson

Trying to keep up with Team injuries is a losing proposition.  Coach Brian Kelly only reports the obvious and if the reporters are not smart enough to ask during the infrequent press conferences, a lot goes unsaid.  You have to respect coaches that keep key injuries close to the vest for fear of giving an advantage to the other team.

 
We try and keep up with injuries on the left side of the Blog.  It’s never fun posting those, especially when it involves a starter.

Defensive end Ethan Johnson went down early in the Purdue game on October1st with what was originally reported as a knee injury.  Turned out to be a “High Ankle Sprain”.  Ouch, that type injury can linger worse that a low ankle strain.

We called in our Physical Therapist expert Alex Brenner to give us the low down on high ankle sprains.  (Sorry bout the pun) 

Alex has over 15 years of physical therapy experience in the military, private clinics and the U.S. Public Health Service. He is rated as a DPT, Doctor of Physical Therapy. Alex jumped on the Red Line and came right over.

High Ankle Sprain

Ankle sprains are among the most common injuries seen in sports medicine. A high ankle sprain is a little bit different than usual ankle sprains seen on the playing field. Most ankle sprains involve the ligaments that run along the side of the ankle and foot but a high ankle sprain involves the ligamentous structure between the two lower leg bones called the syndesmosis or syndesmotic membrane. A high ankle sprain involves more of a rotation injury of the ankle versus an inversion type of mechanism.  This rotation causes a tear to the sydesmotic membrane between the two bones.

Rehab considerations are not too different from a normal ankle sprain meaning that they are treated relatively the same. The big difference between the two types of ankle sprains is the healing time. A high ankle sprain takes longer to heal and it is not unheard of that these types of injuries can be nagging throughout an entire season. I remember a few years ago the Tight end for Baltimore Ravens, Todd Heap, suffered a high ankle sprain and it limited him the entire 16 weeks of the NFL season. Depending on severity of a normal ankle sprain, these usually heal within 2-3 weeks. A syndesmotic ankle sprain can last 4-6 weeks, depending on the severity. They unfortunately heal much slower.

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Notre Dame Kicker Gone Missing

Milk Carton Poster Boy Nick Tausch

Junior Notre Dame kicker Nick Tausch out of Jesuit High School in Plano Texas has not kicked a football for the Irish this year.  We thought he would get a chance in either the Air Force game or the blow-out last Saturday against Navy.  In the AFA game Head Coach Brian Kelly did send in walk-on senior Mike Grieco to kick an extra point as a reward for being a loyal and dedicated member of the Team.  Kelly also opted to work through David Ruffer's shaky start this year and did not call on Tausch.

During 2010 Nick had lost his starting role and was 1/1 in field goals, kicking a 34 yarder while Ruffer was 18/19 and 37/40 on PATs.  Nick kicked off 8 times and averaged only 55.4 yards compared to Ruffer’s 65 kicks averaging 64.3 yards including 10 touchbacks.

During pregame warm ups before the Pittsburgh game in 2009 then freshman Tausch came up lame and could not play.  He had been 14-17 in field goals and 27/30 for PATs. David Ruffer kicked a 42 yard field goal but missed a PAT in relief and took over the kicking duties. Nick and David were in a basic dead heat with kick-offs.   Tausch 65 kicks averaged 61.8 yards with no touchbacks or out of bounds.  Ruffer also kicked off 65 times averaging 62.1 yards, two touchbacks and two going out of bounds.

Thus far in 2011freshman Kyle Brindza has kicked-off 48 times, averaging 66.2 yards with 9 TB’s and 2 OBs.

So where is junior Nick Tausch?  Wearing a redshirt?

Kelly does not have a verbal commitment for a kicker in the 2012 recruitment class thus far.  There may be some walk-on deals that are not public knowledge.  Ruffer is a fifth year senior earning a scholarship for this his last year.

Brindza was brought in as a kicker and punter.  His punting skills were not good enough to beat out sometime erratic Ben Turk.  What Kyle can do kicking field goals is unknown. 

Tausch is on scholarship and a possible added year of eligibility would/could be a good thing.

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The Sweetness of Revenge ????

There are other persons I would rather be than a Naval Academy Football Player come this Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium.

Case in point.

**  Last year Navy humiliated the Irish.

**  Last week the 9 point underdog USC humiliated the Irish.

**  This past week the press humiliated Coach Brian Kelly for quitting against USC.

**  Former Notre Dame players and alumni called out the Team for playing  poorly and humiliated them for lack of leadership especially by the seniors.

** ND Nation has risen up with torches, pitch forks, and rails against the humiliation in the Stadium involving trash music, towels, and the prospect of a Jumbotron.

Navy will get their yards running and passing.  Just keep them out of the end zone.

Run and pass the ball against Navy at will.  Pound them.  Sink them.  The heck with the score. 

Show no mercy Lads.  Heck no one has shown you any this past week.

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This Injury Hurts And No Pun Intended

The loss of defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore to a detached medical collateral ligament for the season really hurts.  Kapron is the sixth Notre Dame player lost for the season and the first starter.  (The injury list is on the left side of the Blog)

How critical? 

Kapron started all seven games and was 6^th in tackles with 32. 

The other four defensive ends have a total of 42 tackles.

Tuitt – 16

Lynch – 13

Johnson – 9

Hounshell – 4

Glass half-full?  Silver lining?  Kapron although a senior has a year of eligibility left and could be ready for spring ball.

Go IRISH!   Depth Charge the Sailor Boys.

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Notre Dame Makes Pact With Devil (Sirius SM)

Well another freebie snatched away in the name of the almighty $$$.

On the University of Notre Dame Athletic Website until recently you were able to open up video’s of player interviews, coach interviews, view clips of practices, and watch all Coach Brian Kelly’s interviews.  Got some great material for posts.

Well a couple of weeks ago ND redesigned the website and setup a deal with Sirius XM Video Channel.  Never saw or heard this coming.  Now you have to subscribe for $14.95 a month to watch what used to be free.  It’s bad enough with all the advertising on the website, now you got to pay.  What will be next Howard Stern interviewing Jack Swarbrick and Father Jenkins?

No thank you Notre Dame and Sirius.  Keep your videos.

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Notre Dame Kick-Off Return Specialist George Atkinson III

Congratulations George Atkinson III for your second kick-off return for a touchdown.

George is ranked 9^th and has returned kick-offs in six games for a total of 19 times, 577 yards, 2 touchdowns and averaging 30.37 yards per return.

The national leader is from Texas, Fozzy Whittaker who in six games and only returning 8 kicks for 372 yards, has 2 touchdowns, averaging 46.50 yards per return.

George we will be watching for number three against Navy.

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Thrown Under the Bus

Bump, clunk, flop, folks are jumping and falling off the Notre Dame bandwagon in droves.  We here at the Station are fully involved in supporting our Irish lads and the entire coaching staff.  It is rather disappointing to read some of the bulletin boards and websites gouging Head Coach Brian Kelly. Kelly is taking hits from running out of toilet paper in the stadium restrooms to overzealous ushers asking fans to sit down.

Here is the official Subway Alumni Station position.

Coaches discuss players’ actions in three places.

**  The Locker room

**  In the privacy of the coaches office

**  In the film room

Excerpts from Sunday October 23 teleconference with the media:

Q. I know last night you mentioned you weren't going to fall on the sword, and I know people interpret that in a lot of different ways. How do you hope your players interpret that? What do you hope that that does to them?

COACH KELLY: Well, we always have the conversations first before I talk to you guys. You get it second. My conversation with our football team is what we talk about in the locker room, and then it's left for you guys to interpret any way you want. My players know exactly how I feel. There is one thing we don't have a problem with is communication. It's really clear with our guys as to what my feelings are after a game, what my expectations are of our football team, and we never put the loss squarely on one or the other. It's a team loss; I lost; our players lost. The specifics of that stay within the locker room.

Q. Cierre (Wood) has been pretty consistent for you this year. Last night was not one of those times. When did you say to him after the game? This was a big moment for him, USC, game day captain, all that?

COACH KELLY: He didn't live up to the expectations that we have for our players at Notre Dame. He's got to find himself and put himself in a position where he can be his best when his best is needed.

Q. Obviously putting Dayne (Crist) back in there and seeing him fumble like that, do you have to worry at all about maybe his mental makeup going back in there knowing he just got that one opportunity and it kind of went the other way on him?

COACH KELLY: No, I don't have to worry about it, he does.

New Jersey's For Crist and Wood

What Kelly said in answering those three separate questions was wrong.  He basically threw Wood and Crist under the bus.  The Head Coach always takes the blame and hands the accolades to the team and individual players.  Same thing in business if you want to prosper.  Same thing in the military for the leaders.  I still remember the phrase, “the commander is responsible for everything his unit does or fails to do.”

Now we watched the game and saw the replays just like you did.  It is no one’s fault but Dayne Crist’s for the fumbled snap.  It is Cierre Wood’s fault that he failed to catch the backwards pass and compounded failure of not recovering or knocking it out of bounds.  They both have been schooled, practiced and trained in what to do.  Kelly can’t be out on the field to do it for them.  He didn't tell the media anything they didn't already know.   

Brian Kelly is very passionate.  Football is his life.  We still support him and see great things in the future for the Irish.  We are going to quit reading from all the 20-20 hindsight, Monday morning quarterbacks out there in ND Nation and the media.

For most of the Team, this will be the end for them unless they also go into coaching.  If they do, hopefully they won’t throw anyone under the bus.

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Notre Dame Rally Towel

Wonder what those towels looked like that the Irish fans were waving Saturday night?

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Silver Lining after a Terrible Whipping

** Brian Kelly did not have the Irish sport the green jerseys.

** The gold shiny helmets looked nice.

** Lane Kiffin did not try and score on USC’s final drive.  (Mark Dantonio would have tried)

** See previous post points.

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Wrong Flag in the Pile – ND 17

Except for ……………

Kyle Brindza doing a stalwart job on kick-offs.

Tyler Eifert catching 7 passes for 66 yards in heavy traffic.

Ben Turk averaging 42 yards on punts.

Harrison Smith making 14 tackles (7-7)

George Atkinson running one back for 96 yards.

David Ruffer making all his kicks.

Gary Gray making 12 tackles (7-5).

……….the wrong flag is stuck in the pile.

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Gunner Kiel Has Second Thoughts

Well apparently high school quarterback Gunner Kiel has come to his senses and decided Indiana was not the right fit for him.  Read about it Here.  Is Indiana the right fit for anyone wanting to play football?  We mocked his choice and thought process Here.

Gunner is one of about 50 recruits (about half are juniors) visiting Notre Dame this weekend.  His visit is unofficial but should prove interesting.

The Irish have 16 verbal 2012 recruits on the books.  A couple are still visiting other schools such as Ronald Darby.  You can view the current recruit crop on the left side of the Blog.  There is room for only 5 - 6 more.  The tall pole in the tent is the long list of 5^th year seniors who will be eligible to return if approved by the University.  A lot will be written about that situation when the season is over and before national signing day.  Some tough choices.

Anyway, is Kiel the right fit for Brian Kelly and his spread offense in which the quarterback is required to be mobile and run the ball when necessary?  Why do you think Kelly used Andrew Hendrix against Air Force and is redshirting Everett Golson this year?
Gunner Kiel is not the right quarterback.  The Irish should pass on him.

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The Demise of Former Notre Dame Quarterback Jimmy Clausen

Jimmy and his rings

Apparently this is Rivalry or Southern Cal Week. 

What to write about?  How to chime in? 

New gold helmets?

How the Trojans are just calling this another game?

Lane Kiffin bitching about how USC should not have lost last year?

Interesting takes on Southern Cal injuries that they are trying to hide?

Almost all interesting topics have been grabbed by the big guys.

How about the fate of Jimmy Clausen?

Jimmy and his black eye

Some 20-20 hindsight and Monday Morning Quarterbacking for our loyal Subway Alumni Station fans.

A California star that could have gone to Southern Cal just as easily as coming to Notre Dame and be tutored under purported quarterback guru and signal caller maker, Charlie Weis.

Mistakes were made.  The typical throwing a freshman to the wolves with no offensive line and no running game hurt Jimmy’s his first year just exactly like it doomed him at Carolina.

Jimmy should never have left Notre Dame after his junior year.  20-20 vision of course is better than avoiding the NFL lockout and learning a new offensive scheme under Brian Kelly.

So what are the facts?

Embarrassingly he was drafted in the second round, # 16 by the lowly Carolina Panthers. 

Analysts attributed his slide partly to his cocky demeanor and “persnickety smirkness”.

Four year deal for $4.2 million.  $2.53 million guaranteed.  Sounds good? 

Heisman Trophy Winner Sam Bradshaw inked a 6 year, $78 million, $50 million guaranteed, with options for up to $86 million with the St. Louis Rams.

Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow inked a 5 year, $11.25 million, $8.7 million guaranteed, with options for up to $33 million with the Denver Broncos. 

Bad year, bad decision to enter the draft.

Jimmy Clausen is on the Carolina Panther reserve roster.  He does not have a jersey.  Jimmy is the number three quarterback behind Cam Newton (Heisman Trophy Winner, gee that seems to follow Jimmy) and Derek Anderson.

How did Jimmy end up number three and inactive?

In 2010 he played in 13 games and started in 10.  His record was 157 completions out of 299 attempts for 1,558 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Jimmy also carries baggage of 9 interceptions, 9 fumbles with 2 lost.

So if Newton or Anderson gets hurt Jimmy can be activated. 

After this year he will have two years left on a measly contract and likely will be traded or most likely let go. 

Is Canadian football an option?  Will another team give him a chance?

Jimmy did go back and get his degree in Sociology from Notre Dame, probably the most important thing he’s got going for himself right now.

Good Lucky Jimmy.

Go IRISH Beat U$C

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Southern Cal Song Girls

Well I’ll be darn.  We are still learnin stuff here at Subway Alumni Station each and every day.  Who’d of thought?
Guess what.  Southern Cal does not have cheerleaders!!  So who are all those people on the sidelines?

They have a co-ed squad of Spirit Leaders who lead in cheers, gymnastics and those sorts of such things.

Spirit Leaders

And they have Song Girls who are basically a dance squad.  Stupid us, we have always thought the Song Girls were cheerleaders.  Duh.

Song Girls

Learned a bunch of other things as well while doing indepth research. 

**  Song Girls are the cream of the California beauty crop.  Obviously.

**  Apparently Hispanics, Oriental, and African Americans either do not attend Southern Cal or they cannot sing, cheer, or dance.   

**  The Song Girls not only have those short pretty white outfits but also are issued black bikini’s.

Song Girls wearing non-USC colors

**  One Song Girl does not know which team she is suppose to root/sing/dance for and as you can see here she is rooting for Texas.

Natalie Cheering for the Long Horns

**  Song Girls wear very very short skirts.  Sometimes they are not very ladylike in how they sit, stand, dance, lay down or otherwise show themselves.

Skirt Fling I

Please cross your legs

Skirt Fling II

Song Girls doing pushups

Song Girls and the High Kick

** Song Girls sometimes try to fly.

Flying Song Girls

Pantyless Song Girl Cheering to a 3-3 tie

**  Sometimes they do dance routines that are kind of weird or kinky.

What the?

Here is a digruntled co-ed that did not get selected to the Spirit or Song squads.

Editors Note:  This has been written with tongue-in-cheek and in no way is intended to be malicious.  These young women are obviously very pretty, talented, and athletic.

Go IRISH Beat U$C

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Who Really is Number 21?

Found this guy’s picture surfing on Google.  Went to the USC official website and the roster lists him as Kyle Prater, 6’ 5”,  215 lbs., RS/FR, WR.

What is " Lame" Kiffin tryin to pull here, a bait and switch? 

Who is this goof-ball looking guy?

Go IRISH Beat U$C

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First Time Jitters - Stage Fright – Too Anxious – Perfect Storm

USC's Most Famous Alum

Got to thinking about the loss to USF (23-20) and have come to the conclusion that it may have simply been “First Game Jitters” and the perfect storm of one time mistakes.

Dayne Crist – First game since Tulsa.  7-15 -1.  He missed some receivers and appeared shaky.

David Ruffer- First field goal attempt for 2011.  He missed from 30 yards out.

Theo Riddick – First game attempting to field punts.  Fumbled/muffed two, lost one.

Jonas Gray – First real chance to score his first Notre Dame touchdown.  Fumbled from the one.

I’m not blaming anyone, including the coaching staff.  There was plenty to go around.

Why am I dredging this up during rivalry week?  Because none of us here at the Station can think of anything pertinent concerning USC to write.

Go IRISH Beat U$C

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USC’s Bowl Game – Saturday October 22, 2012

Thanks to Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll, Southern Cal’s bowl game for 2011-2012 is in Notre Dame Stadium this Saturday night.

What can the Trojans expect?

**  A lot of Green.  Natural green grass.  Green Irish uniforms and 80,000 folks waving green towels.  Well an awful lot of rumors have been swirling about concerning breaking out the jinxed green jerseys to break the curse of the Bush Push.  Been a lot of talk concerning towels as well.  Guess we will find out 7:30 pm EST.

**  A national audience eager to see a great matchup but will unfortunately have to listen to Tom Hammond.

**  Probably a rambunctious Irish crowd that has been tailgating all day.

**  The cream of the 2012 recruiting class standing on the Notre Dame sidelines.

**  An Irish Football Team that knows they have to win to get the THEIR Bowl Game.

**  A lot of Irish fans sick of hearing from Lane (Lame) Kiffin that USC should have won last year except for a USC receiver falling down or Matt Barkley being unable to play.

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Go IRISH!

Notre Dame Stadium Crowd Noise

No dominate color, only the student section

Last week Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick visited both campus dining facilities and encouraged the students to cheer during the upcoming USC game this week.

“I need your passion,’ he said.  “traveling around with our Team, and our stadium is the quietest place we play.  I want you guys on that Saturday night at least once to make USC have a false start penalty.”

Obviously Swarbrick is aware of something that has been quite noticeable to anyone who attends a Notre Dame home football game.  Maybe he doesn‘t spend all his time in the ND luxury box with the Notre Dame beautiful people, movers and shakers, and invited guest and dignitaries.

Jack let me tell you the problem is not the students.  They can get plenty loud when needed and when the time is ripe for noise.  In fact, on the other hand, the Administration over the years has encouraged the ushers and security (using binoculars and plain clothes personnel) to spy on the student body and take care of what they consider rowdy individuals.  What constitutes rowdiness?  One year it was marsh mellow fights.  One year toilet paper throwing.  Another year tossing oranges around because the Team was going to the Orange Bowl.  The ushers and security need to leave the students alone.

The real problem is everyone else.  Well then actually who is everyone else?

First.  Attending a Notre Dame Football game for many is a once in a lifetime experience.  Something like attending a World Series Game or the Super Bowl.  An event to remember, an item on the “Bucket List”, something you have always wanted to do.  Been there, done it, seen it, type thing. 

I go to a home game almost every year, been doing it since 1986.  At the MSU game this year, two guys sat down next to me and were not wearing any Notre Dame or enemy apparel.  In fact, one guy wore a St. Louis Cardinal sweatshirt.  They left at half-time never to be seen again.  I heard them commenting that this being their first time on campus and attending a game.  I either run across them in the Stadium, tailgating, or in the Bookstore.  An awful lot of spectators are once in a life time types and they don’t cheer with the passion of the true fans.

Second.  There are a whole lot of “Blue Hairs” that attend games and don’t cheer or yell for the defense to rip someone’s face off and scare them with it.  Saw a ton of them at the Michigan game last year and I suspect they will be out in force at the USC game.  Many are perennial season ticket holders that save one game to attend and give/sell the rest to first time folks.  The Blue Hairs are the ones yelling ”down in front” as well.  (Man I hate that)  I wish they would just stay home and tend to their gardens or something.

Third.  This group are those that sell their season tickets for profit. There are a lot more in this category than Jack would like to admit.  Got my MSU tickets from my son who bought them off the internet.  On the front of the ticket in red letters, Faculty/Staff use only not for resale.  Duh, they get season ticket packages at a $100 discount and resell them at least double face value.  The USC tickets are probably going for three or four times that.  This is how a lot of the onetime only folks get into the Stadium.

Fourth.  These are my favorites, all the season ticket holders in the gold seats.  They are the ones that clap politely, the nice crowd folks.  They never yell “down in front” because none of them ever stand.

Besides the many spectators who are not true Irish fans and don’t cheer, two architectural issues stand in the way of crowd noise.

·         The Stadium does not hold sound.  It’s a bowl and the sound simply dissipates up and out.

·         There is no Jumbotron.  A Jumbotron encourages the crowd to yell or boo and make noise.  Go to a Michigan game and listen.  Also, I don’t mean what our lame attempt of a Stadium Scoreboard signals with “Make Noise” or DEEEEEFENSE, et al.  I just wish they would stop that crap.  No we do not need a Jumbotron either, just stating the facts.

So what else can Jack Swarbrick do to get the Blue Hairs, Gold Seaters, and one-time event fans to make noise along with the students?  Get them to be part of what is going on.

Kelly Green Notre Dame Fan

Some Easy Stuff:

**  Wear Kelly Green and have a Green Out like when PSU wears white and Alabama, Wisconsin, Nebraska wear red.

Penn State White-Out

**  Handout Kelly Green pomp-pomps, similar to what most of the SEC teams do.

Maize Out With Pomp Pomps

**  Handout Kelly Green towels.

**  Figure out how to make NBC happy without all the momentum killing TV timeouts.

**  Stop the constant “recognition “crap during every break in the action.  (Do it at half-time or before the game)

**  Double the size of the cheerleading squad and add a second Leprechaun. 

**  Get our Band to play the song Gary Owen every time our defense takes the field and when they force the opponent to punt.  (Gary Owen is a US Calvary tune, which is actually an Irish ballard.  Listen Here.

Noisy Closed, Red Alabama Studium

Some Tough Stuff:

**  Move the student body section to right behind the Team.  Talk about generating noise.

**  Conduct a 100% review and reissue all season tickets.  Anybody who has had them for ten years is out of luck.  Increase the alumni lottery.  All staff and faculty must show ID with their tickets.

**  Do away with reserved seating.  First come first seated.

**  Limit opposing team bands.

Go IRISH!  Go NOISE!  BEAT USC

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