HE WAS A GREAT COACH and a fantastic motivator. But that doesn't mean fabled Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne could not tell a lie.
A videotaped profile at the Rockne Memorial tells of the time Rockne inspired his team by reading a telegram from a seriously ill child, requesting them to win."Tell them to win one for Daddy," Rockne read in a husky voice.
Thinking Rockne's son was deathly ill, the Irish charged out to claim victory. But upon arriving back home in South Bend, they discovered Rockne's son wasn't sick at all; he was romping and playing at the train station.
Some experts claim even Rockne's "Win One for the Gipper" speech was fabricated. Rockne didn't give his famous speech until eight years after George Gipp died on Dec. 14, 1920. It wasn't like Rockne didn't have the chance to use the speech earlier. Notre Dame lost to Iowa in 1921, Nebraska in 1922 and 1923, Army and Nebraska in 1925, Carnegie Tech in 1926 and Army in 1927, before Rockne finally unveiled the speech prior to a 12-6 win over Army in 1928.
REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY: The Rock wasn't above using sarcasm to inspire his team, either. Born before the days of political correctness, he once sent his team out after halftime with the words "Let's go, girls" ringing in their
ears. On another occasion he exclaimed, "Fighting Irish? Bah!"
OOPS: Apparently in hopes of perpetuating coach Lou Holtz's success at Notre Dame, Irish fans presented Holtz a 50-pound piece of authentic Blarney Stone on St. Patrick's Day this year. The stone came from the quarry that was used to build Blarney Castle.
The stone is supposed to bring good luck and eloquence - something Holtz has been largely lacking this season.
TOUGH TICKET: Although fans ringed Notre Dame Stadium last Saturday, trying to buy scalpers' tickets for the game against BYU, they can rest assured they aren't the first to endure such trials.
In fact, Rockne, who died in 1931, complained about the dearth of Irish tickets over 60 years ago.
"These are dire days for the men who have charge of football tickets at universities. If a football coach loses, his name is mud, and if he wins he is a hero," said Rockne. "Win or lose, a ticket manager is always in a very unenviable position. He does not, nor will he ever, satisfy all the alumni."
WORD OF ADVICE: Ron Powlus, the heralded Irish freshman quarterback, has been termed the next Joe Montana. But to date he isn't certain to be the next Tim Koegel (Notre Dame, 1977-81).
However, there is hope. Amid the items Rockne left for posterity is a list of "Hints for Quarterbacks." Hint No. 1: "Know when not to forward pass." Hint No. 14: "If worried, hide it." And Hint No. 21: "Stall when you are ahead; run plays quickly when you are behind."
GOING . . . GOING . . . :With the loss to BYU, Notre Dame fell from the rankings - a rare occurrence for any Notre Dame team. That leaves open the possibility that the Irish will finish out of the rankings for the first time since 1986. That year was Holtz's first at Notre Dame, and the Irish went just
5-6. Since then, the Irish have been ranked 17th or higher every year at season's end.
MEMORY LANE: It's up to conjecture which school has the strongest football tradition in America. But a strong case could be made for Notre Dame.
The Augusta Chronicle rated Notre Dame No. 1 in football tradition after considering winning percentage, victories by top coaches, alltime A.P.rankings, bowl game records, Heisman winners, All-Americas, Hall of Fame selections, top draft picks, stadium capacity and other factors.
Oklahoma came in second, followed by Alabama, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Nebraska, Penn State and Tennesee.
BIG SELLER: Count Notre Dame among the leaders in student support, too. For the past five years, the Student Union Board of Directors and Student Activities has sponsored a shirt, which benefits various scholarship and charitble funds.
Last year, a whopping 53,000 of the shirts were sold.
The project had raised over $500,000 going into this season. This year's shirt is kelly green and features Rockne and the Four Horsemen, hovering in the clouds over Notre Dame Stadium, and includes the slogan "Wake Up the
Echoes." Over 95 percent of the students at Notre Dame's Sept. 10 game against Michigan wore the shirt.
QUOTEFILE: Notre Dame linebacker Justin Goheen in the South Bend Tribune: "I feel bad for Notre Dame, for the people who have played here, who have sweat and bled on the field for the last 100 years. For us to come out and lose the game . . . that is not Notre Dame football."