Pat Haden talks about his many Notre Dame experiences
by Paragon SC on Nov 26, 2010 10:01 AM PST
in USC Football
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PrintPat Haden is a bit of an enigma when you discuss USC and Notre Dame.
Haden has seen it all...from the field at The Coliseum, from the press box calling ND games and now from the AD's office at USC.
Many were not happy when Haden started calling ND games. I know I was perplexed when he took the job but Haden treated ND fair. In all the games I watched, I admit there weren't many unless it was 'SC or Navy, he always seemed to be balanced in his analysis. That is not something we are accustomed to in today's shrieking, biased coverage that we witness on Saturday's.
In his three varsity meetings with Notre Dame from 1972-74, the winner went on to claim the national championship in at least one major poll each time. His trip to South Bend with the 1973 squad is a treasured memory despite the sixth-ranked Trojans’ 23-14 loss to No. 8 Notre Dame in a rainstorm.
"Coming out of that tunnel at that stadium I had dreamed of playing in as a kid was almost as daunting as the opponent we were facing," Haden said. "You felt the weight of the significance of that series. Now it was your time to be great. There’s only one brand in college football, and that’s Notre Dame."
When you look at all that he did at his time at USC (including now as AD) it is hard to believe that he was so enthralled with ND yet still chose USC. He was that close to going to South Bend.
Haden has been a great ambassador for USC, even when many were against his broadcasting Notre Dame games. He is lot less of a homer than that insufferable Joe Theisman is...and I am a huge Redskins fan. I am still a bit unsure about how Haden will do as USC's AD but with what we are facing I think he is best caretaker to get us through the mountain of crap we are facing. His time on the Board of Trustees coupled with his business acumen and his dedication to USC athletics gives him a unique perspective.
Haden has pretty much seen it all...
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Haden reflects...does anyone care?
Maybe I’m still drowsy from my day of gluttony yesterday, but I feel like USC tries a bit too hard to hype this once-storied rivalry. Like putting lipstick on a pig. This is the time of year when all the old codgers love to reminisce about the history of the rivalry.
When the fact is that the rivalry has been largely irrelevant on the natl stage since the 70s. The two long winning streaks, NDs followed by USCs, haven’t helped. This game only has major bowl implications once every 5 years nowadays, at best. I love to reminisce too, but the fact is that this rivalry has lost of ton of luster over the last two decades. Notre Dame is facing their 6th loss of the season. They haven’t been good in a decade. And, when they were last good, USC was bad.
They are a rival and I want to win. But, all the syrupy drivel over the history of the rivalry makes me cringe more and more every year. The game isn’t even sold out or broadcast to 60% of the country. Notre Dame is a natl joke.
You can't put sanctions on the fkn endzone! Bowls are for salad!
Well...
This is me.
This is the time of year when all the old codgers love to reminisce about the history of the rivalry.
This is reason I got into ‘SC all the hype of the rivalry with ND. Yes it isn’t what it used to be…but it will get there again.
I hate Joe Theismann
I always wondered why Haden called ND games — but I just figured why not? I love the ND game — and I couldn’t care less about its relevance. Its a real, inter-sectional rivalry not the pre packed garbage (SEC regular season games only notable due to the fact that an SEC school is not playing a college for the blind or a local high school) that ESPN slings at us. Also it contains USC making it 1000% better than anything not containing USC.
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