The Art of Beating a Dead Horse
This past weekend was the annual Blue-Gold spring football game for the Fighting Irish. It was a game that, at times, lulled me to sleep and, at other times, got me excited for the young, developing talent on display. After a rigorous post-game debriefing with my brother and my dad, I was certain that the morning would bring a newspaper stuffed full of interesting perceptions on the very game I just witnessed.
When I awoke and got around to unfolding my copy of the South Bend Tribune, I was met with a proverbial smorgasbord of articles pertaining to anything from the improved rushing game to coverage of the ND/Japan try-outs by former Notre Dame players. Then I read over an article that annoyed me to no end and lead me to the inevitable conclusion that certain people simply refuse to let some things go.
I realize that articles like this are published for only two possible reasons:
- To attract controversy and invite speculation.
- Provide opportunity for people to suspend logic in favor of beating a dead horse.
To the South Bend Tribune’s credit, Jim Meenan has managed to do both, as is apparent by the sheer volume of meaningless comments that the article has garnered.
The other problem I have with this article regards timing. I understand the fact that Weis’ job security was in question last season after the drubbing at the hands of USC and heading into the Hawaii Bowl. Maybe the time to do an article like this was then? Even though this article was poorly done and in bad taste, the fact that the Tribune decided to run it on the cusp of summer break only serves to make me think that the Tribune has no problem in conducting themselves unprofessionally if doing so results in increased exposure.
This is a new season and, by all signs exhibited at the Blue-Gold game, this staff should field an improved team, even though it’s hard to come to any concrete conclusions about a team from a scrimmage. It’s time for the Notre Dame media and fans to stop beating a dead horse and leave the subject of Coach Weis’ job security alone until the end of the 2009 season. Hopefully, by then it will no longer be an issue.