Notre Dame football....More like No Game U.

Recently, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team signed a contract extension with national television station NBC til 2015. The deal extends the Irish's opportunity to be on national television every week until 2015.

What a dumb, yet intelligent move by NBC!
Ratings will come pouring in, those that want to watch the Fighting Irish, as well as those, like myself, that want to see their shamrocks, shilaleghs, and four leaf clovers get stomped into the turf by any and all opponents.

My question is, how does Notre Dame get so lucky to sign such a lucrative contract that will garner them national exposure that will aid in recruiting for Charlie Wiess and the rest of his staff. It isn't like they need the exposure.

Any high school player that has the ability to play Division I-A football knows the powerhouses-Southern Cal, LSU, Ohio State, Texas-as well as royalty-Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Notre Dame. These players don't need to see the Irish every week. If anything, it gives Notre Dame an unfair advantage in recruiting, while some schools may only be on TV 3 times a year.

Also, and most importantly, The Irish are mediocre at best-with wins and talent. They haven't won a National Title since Lou Holtz left in the early 90s, and haven't won a significant bowl since then either, yet they have a bowl tie in because they are independents and "football royalty." Furthermore, it has been proven that Notre Dame is just a middle tier program, especially last season when they were, in my opinion, the worst team in all of football.

And let's not forget the Sugar Bowl where they squared off against LSU, and got absolutely destroyed by a team that is from, what so experts believe to be, best conference in the whole country, the SEC

Yet Notre Dame, just like other storied programs, lives off the reputation and expectations of by gone eras. The days of which the words Notre Dame and scholarship, has lost its luster. Sure, kids are honored, but the talent still goes to the SEC, the Big 12, and Pac 10-not coincidental this is where the best football is played.

There is one way for the Irish to make me not such an avid hater: Join a conference!
They are already in Big 10, an eleven team conference have you, country. They have rivalries with Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, etc. Plus, they can still have a non-conference rivalry with Southern Cal, which would be a huge money generator.

If Notre Dame joins a conference, any conference, and can prove they can win in a set schedule, and not one they pad with easy games, then I will say they have the right to be on TV. But a team that hasn't won consitently has no right to be on TV every Saturday, especially a team who couldn't even string 5 wins together. Why do they get so lucky to be on TV over teams that have won, and consistently won games, especially those in a conference?

The answer is simple: Money.

The money is too good for the Irish to join a conference. The prospect of winning a padded schedule will fill the seats, seats that are worth a lot of cash, and the chance to go to BCS bowls, and get blown out in the process, will sell tickets and ratings. Plus, they get all that money to themselves instead of having to split it in a conference pool.

So, until the day-that will probably never come-arrives when Notre Dame joins a conference in football, my second favorite team in the country will always be whoever is playing Notre Dame.