BlogPoll Roundtable

Looks like the lads at Texas A&M and Baseball have started this round of questions. Let's chime in.

Q1. Why your school? Did you go to school there? Were you legacy, did you pick it for academics, for the football team, the party reputation?

Dyed-in-the-wool legacy lifelong ND fan. Pretty standard stuff.

Q2. Name a player or two who had "THE GAME" against your school. I'm talking about a guy who simply dominated your team and all you could do was tip your cap and say, "Wow."

Well, my most recent memory was Carson Palmer's Heisman-clinching performance in November 2002. A lot of that was the Notre Dame bubble bursting, but I don't think he threw an incomplete pass all night. That same year, Charles Rogers had a ridiculous game for Michigan State, albeit in a losing effort. Oh, and that Reggie Bush guy had a pretty solid game this year, although it was really just another day at the office for him.

The best game performance in my lifetime, however, belongs to Boston College QB Glenn Foley. Right after 1993's "Game of the Century" where ND toppled Florida State and took the #1 ranking, Boston College was the last test before it was trophy-hoisting time. Well, we all know how that went, but you can read here if you're a glutton for punishment.

Historically, Anthony Davis probably put up the best individual effort against a Notre Dame team in 1974. There's some info on him in that link too. Boy, this question wasn't any fun.

Q3. There are games that I have no interest in but I watch simply to see a certain guy play. What players from this season do you do the same for?

Yes, absolutely. During Jared Lorenzen's senior year, my roommates and I made it a point to watch every single game of his that we could (provided it didn't conflict with ND's schedule). Some of you know him as the Pilsbury Throwboy, others might know him as the Round Mound of Touchdown, or just as Papa J-Lo. Whatever you called him, he was my favorite football player in a long time.



Just look at this guy. 275 pounds of left-handed man-goo. Left handed I tell you! Even though he was on a thoroughly mediocre Kentucky team, they always managed to put up a better game than they had any right doing. Defensive linemen would bounce off of him. Cornerbacks jumped onto his back and would be dragged for dozens of yards. He threw the football like a cinder block in a weird sidearmy left-handed motion. Watching him play quarterback was like watching that guy who paints pictures of Rock & Roll stars by dipping his hand in paint and smacking a giant canvas. It was tragically beautiful.

The most amazing thing was, that year, the starting center for Kentucky clocked in at 274 pounds. That's right, the quarterback for Kentucky outweighed the center. It appears that J-Lo is a reserve quarterback for the New York Giants. We here at the House Rock Built are praying for multiple season-ending injuries in the Giants organization.

Q4. A few weeks ago we were asked who the best player to suit up for our school was. I'm curious who your favorite player to ever suit up for your school is? Certainly doesn't have to be a superstar, or even a starter.

Nick Setta, the gangly kicker/punter from Lockport, IL was probably the player I hold the strongest personal affinity toward. He lived in my dorm for four years, so his habits and eccentricities became very well-known. He would play Playstation football as Notre Dame and kick field goals every time he crossed midfield, had a goofy voice, and was a serial womanizer. He had a great few years, but never seemed to recover after a hamstring injury his senior year. A quick Googling shows he's on the Rhein Fire right now, which is pretty excellent.

I also liked Grant Irons. His personal webpage at Notre Dame was fantastic. The headline said "Are You Ready to Pump the Irons?" and had a soundclip that played when you entered that said "Welcome to the home of Grant 'Ironman' Irons", very deep with a ton of reverb. I still have that on my iPod to this day.