Memo To Notre Dame Students: You Do Not Live At Hogwarts, You Incredible Nerds
I did not attend Notre Dame, but I have some close friends who did, and one of the recurring memes I heard while I was there was that they felt like they were living in Hogwarts — tiny dorms, ancient buildings, tradition thick in the air — without any of the benefits of magic. I’ve visited Notre Dame numerous times, and I think I know what they mean.
Fortunately for them, this was never more than a feeling. They never, say, dressed up as Quiddich players and played an imaginary sport that requires broom flight and a self-powered ball thingy. Fortunately for them, they kept their honor. Not so with these nerdbots:
They grab their broom sticks and play a game of Quidditch, a game from the Harry Potter books. The students play outside on a field, wearing capes and riding broom sticks.
I would like you to go watch the video accompanying the story. You’ll notice that no one is actually “riding a broomstick.” They are not doing so because riding a broomstick is physically impossible. They are merely “holding a broomstick.” THIS DOESN’T EVEN LOOK FUN.
Listen, people. I am a nerd. I went out and bought Dead Space last night because I heard “futuristic zombie aliens in space” and I knew I had to blast some of those fools. I spend most of my time either a) blogging b) gaming or c) playing basketball. I’m a nerd about all three.
But this — I can’t countenance this. Somewhere, we have to draw the line.
(HT: Peter, the biggest Harry Potter fan I know. Even he was disgusted by this.)
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Although this IS happening, I hope many people realize this is not ALL that is happening on Friday afternoon, although it is pretty damn embarrassing. As a nerd myself, I agree with PostmanE that a line needs to be drawn, and students at the school are trying to stop the ridiculous shenanigans happening on our beloved campus (mainly by ridiculing all involved . . . relentlessly). So rest assured knowing that there do exist others at the university that would GLADLY take a case of beer and that tailgates will not suck in 20 years, at least mine won't.
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http://www.killerclips.com/util/view-greeting.p...
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I never implied the University should be focused only on breeding superior athletes, only that for those who were wondering why your football team is in the tank, a quick glance across the quidditch field might be a good starting point.
A degree from Notre Dame now means.......that you have a piece of paper saying you were able to satisfy the minimum requirements to attain a degree. Nothing more, nothing less. Sorry, but just a degree from the institution doesn't get you the keys to the kingdom. It's going to take a lot more than a signature from the Cardinal's office to get me excited.
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Yes, Notre Dame is not the same place it was when Joe Montana was here, and yes there are some things that have arguably changed for the worse, but keep in mind that there are also some things that have changed for the better - including what a degree from Notre Dame now means.
Kids playing Quidditch on the quad is NOT a symbol of bad things to come and its really ridiculous to think that it would be.
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My friend of mine sent the following out as part of the email chain: "From what I've heard Poorman's (Vice President of Student Affairs at ND) goal was to make ND into the next BYU, and it seems he is succeeding. I was talking to *name redacted* a few tailgates ago and he said he tried to drop off a case of beer to his old freshmen room in Dillon, but the two guys in the room, who never put down their XBox controllers to even say hello, said they didn't want it. They told Billy if he left the case, they would just throw it out." REALLY?? What college student(s) turn down a free case of beer?? I hope they had fun that night playing Halo 3, talking about their big game of Quidditch the next day.
Tailgating is still a great time because most of the people in the parking lot are alums who weren't around when ND started to suck. In the past few years, it has really taken a turn for the worst. I can only imagine how tailgating will be in 30 years. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if tailgating is outlawed there by the time I'm 50.
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Now, I have more questions. I mean, was this type of shit going on when Joe Montana was running the show there? Did Paul Hornung walk through the quad on the way to practice and have to see this kind of non-sense going on?
These people that go to Notre Dame wonder why their football team sucks all the time? Take a look at the freaks populating your common areas. If I am a stud football player I don't want to have to dodge a "quidditch" ball while trying to mack on a lady. The general atmosphere there appears to have deteriorated from really smart, socially apt people who are on the path to success to kids who are both really good on their Mac laptops and really mad at their alumni parents for not letting them go to NYU or some clown school like that.
For those that went to IU, it appears Notre Dame is one large, all-encompassing, Collins-Living Learning Center.