Plus, it’s just unimportant in the grand scheme of things, because this is nothing more than a cosmetic change.
This is the kind of frivolous issue on which the university administration is willing to acquiesce to appease a disgruntled minority and, in so doing, distract from real issues permeating the school from top to bottom. I’m sure there are several people out there who are pleased that Notre Dame finally made a change to “recognize” female students, and I don’t want to diminish that, but this whole thing strikes me as a strategic distraction. It’s an iconic fight song, and those two bars that were amended - “while her loyal sons are marching/onward to victory” - are a couple of really good soundbites.īut maybe you can take solace in the fact that - as one commenter on this site so accurately observed - the first line of the song still only refers to the “sons of Notre Dame.”Īnd no, I don’t think we need to go a step further and change that first line as well. The point is, if you have a problem with the lyrics changing, I understand where you are coming from. On the other hand, I was seeing plenty of outrage about the fact that Notre Dame employs a birther conspiracist who was just cited in a mass shooter’s manifesto.
I wasn’t exactly hearing a clamor at this moment for fixing the fight song lyrics. (Although I must say the timing of this seems strange.
To be blunt, I could give a crap about the university changing the lyrics to be more inclusive towards women, seeing as women have been allowed as students since 1972. So, when you start complaining about the sanctity of the Notre Dame fight song being ruined by amending two bars, maybe you should be complaining about the “so-called fans who can’t be bothered to show Our Lady’s university some respect by actually learning the ‘Greatest of all University Fight Songs: The Notre Dame Victory March!’” Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images that the marching band strikes up that song, the majority of inebriated and/or apathetic college students start singing “cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame” when the ACTUAL first lyrics of the song are “Rally sons of Notre Dame.” If this comes as a revelation to you, that’s right, there are TWO WHOLE VERSES that are sung BEFORE the chorus. And, if they did, they had only learned the chorus.īecause every time - EVERY. And as I sat there in the student section, it didn’t take me long to realize that a lot of students hadn’t bothered to learn the fight song. So I did just that.Īnd then I started going to games as a student. I’m sure I was in the minority of students who spent their precious summer time before their first college semester studying up on the history of Notre Dame football and memorizing the fight song.Īlthough, in my defense, the Zahm House Red Book - the introductory “manual” that the Zahm Welcome Weekend committee would send to all incoming students - said that there were three “Songs to Permanently Engrain in Your Memory”: “Notre Dame, Our Mother” (the Alma Mater), the Victory March, and “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede. I understand that not every Notre Dame student has as much school spirit as me.
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