THE KICKOFF. August 4, 2005. VOL 1 ISSUE 4.

Rockne. Leahy. Ara. Lou.

And, now we are all sure we'll be adding Weis to that list. I don't disagree, but I'm hesitant, and I know there are tons of you out there that feel the same way. And, why shouldn't we? After all there have been many coaches at ND -- many we'd like to forget.

The pressure is immense. The hype deafening. And, the expectations are set high. Welcome to ND football. But what a better candidate to deal with the stress associated with this position than Charlie Weis.

Charlie brings alot to the table. He's experienced the pressures of Super Bowls and returned sports fame and excitement to a region which had all but gone into hibernation. He's more than just great coaching abilities --What excites me most about him is that he's been to the mountaintop and he's ready to take us all along with him as we begin this journey together. But remember, he's building and it may take some time.

For me, Weis is off to a successful start simply by getting our team, our fans, our community back into the ND spirit. I believe, like many of my fellow SA, that success has to come to this team off the field first. Charlie Weis has already begun to instill an attitude -- THE ATTITUDE -- that our players have lacked in recent years.You know what I'm talking about -- the swagger.

The same Chris Zorich swagger that came to battle each and every game. The one that screams "We Are ND!" This attitude helped put us on the map. It is this which makes opponents dread playing ND especially in our house.

I think Weis has already succeeded in getting this back into our game. I'm just glad that we finally have a coach who knows all too well the pressure, the expectations that come with Football at Notre Dame -- after all he is a Domer.

Good luck, Coach! See you at the luncheon.

 

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