What is your favorite team in all sports and what year did you become a fan? Maybe it’s been a year since your fandom became an obsession?
That was the case for me in the early 90s with Notre Dame football because I know I’ve been a fan for as long as I can remember, but my earliest memories of watching the Irish came in the 1992 season which saw a 10-1-1 conclusion led by my first set of favorites in Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis, Reggie Brooks, Bryant Young, Jim Flanigan and many more.
A year later, we know what happened when the Irish, led by quarterback Kevin McDougal, picked up wins over No. 3 Michigan and No. 1 Florida State starting the year 10-0 before being upset in the regular season finale by Boston College. I don’t care what the final polls say, I saw the 1993 “Game of the Century” against Florida State and despite it being the final game, anyone who watched that game saw Notre Dame beat Florida State’s daytime lights that afternoon. Seriously, if All-American Jeff Burris turns one of his many defended passes in this game into an interception, the Irish win by two or more scores.
Instead, Bobby Bowden received his lifetime achievement award from The Associated Press and fellow coaches.
Notre Dame was the best team in the country in 1993 and I will never come down from that hill no matter how hard my Florida State fans try to get me there.
Even with the heartache of that 1993 Boston College game, I can’t help but be grateful that I grabbed Notre Dame football when I did because if I had been just a few years older young, I don’t know if things would have been quite the same.
In those two years, Notre Dame went 21-2-1, won a pair of Cotton Bowls against Texas A&M, and those were the last two years the Fighting Irish were the “it” of college football under Lou. Holtz, because things never were. the same for him in South Bend after 1993.
With 93/92 days left before the start of the season this fall (Thursday and Friday), here is a throwback to some photos from the 1992 and 1993 seasons that I will always remember from my youth.
Our Lady celebrates
Notre Dame tailback Reggie Brooks (40) is congratulated by teammate Dean Lytle (7) and shouts leaders…
Notre Dame tailback Reggie Brooks (40) is congratulated by teammate Dean Lytle (7) and shouts for the leaders after scoring a 55-yard second quarter touchdown against Southern in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 28, 1992. Brooks cut through the USC defense, scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 227 yards as 5-yard Dame beat No. 19 USC, 31-23. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Notre Dame vs. Penn State 1993
Reggie Brooks (40) of Notre Dame is congratulated by teammate Derrick Mayes (1) and an usher after…
Notre Dame’s Reggie Brooks (40) is congratulated by teammate Derrick Mayes (1) and an usher after Brooks’ two-point conversion to lead the Irish against the Penn State Nittany Lions in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday 14 November 1992. The final score was Notre Dame 17, Penn State 16. (AP Photo/Dave Durochik)
Charlie Ward, Bryant Young
FILE – In this Nov. 13, 1993, file photo, Notre Dame tackles Bryant Young, right, drags…
FILE – In this Nov. 13, 1993, file photo, Notre Dame tackle Bryant Young, right, drives Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward for a 13-yard loss during the second quarter at South Bend, Ind. Two decades later, it’s still open to debate whether college football ever had a better afternoon than Nov. 13, 1993, when Florida State’s No. 1 visited No. 2 Our Lady. (AP Photo/Mark Elias)
game of the century
FILE – In this Nov. 13, 1993, file photo, Notre Dame’s Michael Miller, left, and Charles…
FILE – In this Nov. 13, 1993 file photo, Notre Dame’s Michael Miller, left, and Charles Stafford celebrate their team’s 31-24 victory over Florida State in South Bend, Ind. Two decades later, it’s still debatable whether college football ever had a better afternoon than Nov. 13, 1993, when Florida State’s No. 1 visited Notre Dame’s No. 2. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond, File)
Charlie Ward Jim Flanigan
FILE – In this Nov. 13, 1993, file photo, Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward looks for…
FILE – In this Nov. 13, 1993 file photo, Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward looks for a receiver as Notre Dame tackles Jim Flanigan (44) comes down on Ward during the first quarter, November 13, 1993 in South Bend, Indiana. Two decades later, it remains to be debated whether college football ever had a better afternoon than Nov. 13, 1993, when Florida State’s No. 1 visited No. 2 Notre Dame. (AP Photo/John Swart, File)
football game of the century
FILE – In this Nov. 13, 1993, file photo, Notre Dame fans celebrate after a victory…
FILE – In this Nov. 13, 1993 file photo, Notre Dame fans celebrate after a win over Florida State in South Bend, Ind. , 1993, when Florida State’s No. 1 visited Notre Dame’s No. 2. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)
