The Harris Poll has asked the question "What is your favorite college football team?" every year since 1997.

.... and every year since 1997 the most popular team has been Notre Dame.

Here are the rankings:
1. Notre Dame
2. Florida State
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
6. Michigan
7. Miami
8. Texas
9. Wisconsin
10. Florida

hmmmm .... 4 Big Ten teams (maybe soon to be 5 if ND joins the Big Ten) ... 1 SEC ... 0 Left Coasters ....

Link to Harris Poll.

no accounting for taste, or lack thereof!

Most of the people responding to that poll are NOT what you'd call college football fans. The results reflect mostly vague name recognition. It's not surprising that ND would be in there given the massive propaganda the sports media hands them year after year.

torsten, care to elaborate specifically on what propaganda the sports media has handed them year after year?

Looking forward to your response.

It's the incessant blathering on and on and on and on and on and on about how "special" Notre Dame supposedly is, how they're the place all young boys dream of playing for, the job all coaches want over any other, etc. And I do mean incessant. It pervades every saturday of the football season and comes from the mouths of most of the talking heads (Corso, Alberts, May, Herbstreit, Cook, Greise, Musberger, Gottfried, etc.) Reality seems to mean nothing to these people. The fact is that college football has been dominated over the last 20 years by teams like Miami, Florida State, Nebraska, and Florida, but you'd almost never know it when they start in with the gushing about that team with the losing record in South Bend. It's a little like the relationship talk radio has with the Republican party. There's definitely an agenda there - and what happens on the field has nothing to do with it.

And let's not forget the products of all that propaganda: the "special" deal with NBC and the "special" exception with the BCS and the special officiating that seems to turn up in close games when they need it.

I absolutely positively knew you were going to bring up the NBC broadcast deal. Do you want to know why NBC paid Notre Dame to broadcast their games, and will likely continue to do so despite their record? Do you know why all the other networks fight over their road games, and EVERY single Notre Dame game is televised? Do you want to know why the BCS wants to include Notre Dame in the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, and Rose Bowls when they’re eligible and worthy? Here is the reason why:

1. Notre Dame
2. Florida State
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
6. Michigan
7. Miami
8. Texas
9. Wisconsin
10. Florida

They know that Notre Dame is the most popular team in the country. They know that advertisers will buy advertising space at a premium because the Norte Dame games will have increased viewership, compared to the average college football game.

It’s the same reason why ESPN showcases the Big Ten on Saturday mornings in lieu of other conferences. The Big Ten certainly doesn’t play a more exciting game than other conferences. Hell, MAC games this year have been more exciting. But why does ESPN show the Big Ten? Because they’re popular, and people watch the games. It’s all about ratings, my friend, and whether you’re willing to admit it or not, Notre Dame is popular with the masses.

As far as the likes of Corso, Alberts, May, Herbstreit, Cook, Greise, Musberger, Gottfried, etc., they’re doing the same thing. They’re talking about what listeners and viewers want to hear. Maybe not you, but certainly a great number of viewers.

As far as the special officiating, I think everyone here knows that’s a load of crap that you're shoveling. You’re pretty much calling out officiating groups from all different conferences, accusing them of collusion in favor of Notre Dame. Simply logistically impossible. Notre Dame is either playing games with official from the conference of the opponent, or officials from a third party conference.

Fact is that while you may not have dreamed about playing for Notre Dame, a huge populus of kids (as compared to other schools) do have that dream. Like it or not, it's the truth.

In summary torsten, you are wrong. The media isn't HANDING them any propaganda. The media is delivering the public what they want, hence Notre Dame's ranking as the most popular team in college football since 1997.

~OUT!

[ November 19, 2003, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: coyoteugly ]

I never hear anyone talk about Notre Dame. But I have to see them when I'm flipping thru the channels. Go figure.

"In summary," coyoteugly, you're one of those with the agenda I was talking about. Dream on. Kids do NOT disproportionately dream about playing for ND compared to other schools. I've seen recruiting-related surveys that indicate otherwise. FSU and Miami usually top the desired lists because players see them as the places where winners go. And speaking of recruiting... If so many people want to play for ND, why are the national recruiting battles usually won by FSU, Texas, LSU, Miami, etc? In fact, ND currently has less talent than teams in their own region such as OSU and Michigan.

Again, you seem to have missed my main point in this thread which was about the poll. Most of the people answering are NOT college football fans. They're people who know of it only in a superficial way and are giving that answer only because of name recognition that's largely driven by the propaganda I mentioned. So where does the TV contract come from? That same name recognition. The VERY casual fan may drift there for a while instead of another game for the same reason your average couch potato stops on any sensationalistic "news" story. They may not actually know anything about it, but they've heard the hype at some point. You've got your cause and effect mixed up. The talking heads aren't responding to some kind of demand from college football fans concerning ND, they're trying to create it.

But even with all the propaganda, the games are not that attractive. The ratings can't match most of ABC's stuff and they're in a consistent decline.

Answer a question honestly: Among those watching NBC saturday afternoons, what % of the audience would you classify as passionate college football fans vs the ones watching on ABC/CBS?

Officiating? You've GOT to be kidding. You don't seem to have actually watched much Notre Dame football if you've managed to miss that. It doesn't matter what conferences the refs come from. Only the results matter. I'll admit though, it's not nearly as bad as it used to be when Holtz was there. If anything it seems to have drifted down to some of college football's other agenda teams. If you like, I'd be glad to give you a list of college teams and how the officiating leans for and against. There are teams that CONSISTENTLY receive biased officiating and teams that consistently get break after break.

Torsten, in the immortal words of Lawrence Taylor, from the movie The Waterboy, "Don't smoke crack"!

“If so many people want to play for ND, why are the national recruiting battles usually won by FSU, Texas, LSU, Miami, etc? In fact, ND currently has less talent than teams in their own region such as OSU and Michigan.”

The reason/fact: admission standards. I know that Miami, the institution of higher learning that it is (Ha!), doesn't have the same admission standards as Notre Dame. I’d also be willing to bet you that 75%-80% of the athletes from each of the schools you mentioned do not have the academic qualifications to get admitted into Notre Dame, given their exclusive standards.

“Kids do NOT disproportionately dream about playing for ND compared to other schools. I've seen recruiting-related surveys that indicate otherwise.”

Take a nationwide cross section of college eligible athletes, and I will guarantee you (my opinion) that one school will appear more than any other school. Please reference the recruiting related surveys that you have read that indicate otherwise.

“So Most of the people answering are NOT college football fans. They're people who know of it only in a superficial way and are giving that answer only because of name recognition that's largely driven by the propaganda I mentioned. So where does the TV contract come from? That same name recognition.”

You have got to be kidding me? NBC shells out $8 million annually, and the other networks show Notre Dame because of name recognition? Torsten, TV is a business. This is all about money and Notre Dame generates it. Network executives would not dish out that kind of money without viewers to support the investment.

“You've got your cause and effect mixed up. The talking heads aren't responding to some kind of demand from college football fans concerning ND, they're trying to create it.”

Unbelievable. What’s their motivation to create anything? Why would every broadcaster/analyst that you mention discuss Notre Dame, like you said? You sound like a conspiracy theorist to me. Is Elvis dead or alive?

“But even with all the propaganda, the games are not that attractive. The ratings can't match most of ABC's stuff and they're in a consistent decline.”

Then why has ABC shown Notre Dame at Michigan, Notre Dame at Purdue, Notre Dame at Boston College, and will be televising upcoming games at Stanford, and at Syracuse? Oh, and why did the ABC-owned ESPN broadcast Notre Dame at Pittsburgh if they're not that attractive ?

“Answer a question honestly: Among those watching NBC saturday afternoons, what % of the audience would you classify as passionate college football fans vs the ones watching on ABC/CBS?”

I doubt very seriously if they (networks) care what one’s level of passion is as long as they’re tuning into the game. Notre Dame is a school that has a huge national, passionate fan base.

“Officiating? You've GOT to be kidding. You don't seem to have actually watched much Notre Dame football if you've managed to miss that. It doesn't matter what conferences the refs come from. Only the results matter. I'll admit though, it's not nearly as bad as it used to be when Holtz was there. If anything it seems to have drifted down to some of college football's other agenda teams. If you like, I'd be glad to give you a list of college teams and how the officiating leans for and against. There are teams that CONSISTENTLY receive biased officiating and teams that consistently get break after break.”

If all these referees, from every conference imaginable, are colluding in favor of Notre Dame, where is the national outcry of bias and favoritism (outside of your flawed claims)? You would think with all the biased officiating in their favor their record would be better than a paltry 4-6.

Let’s face it, you don’t like Notre Dame. And like most fans in the country, you either love them or hate them. But the arguments you have tried to present in this thread are flawed in logic and reek of anti-Notre Dame bias and fantasy. Answer me this, is it “envy” or “jealousy”? Isn't the root of your anti-Notre Dame bias really cemented because your teams don't garner the following that Notre Dame does? Don't you wish your teams got the attention that Notre Dame does? How does it feel to know that the team you hate so much is the most popular team in the land? Must suck. Man, if you were here in Phoenix, I'd buy ya a beer just so it be easier for you to deal with it. Cheers!

Have a nice night!

Are they on TV because they're popular? Or are they popular because they're on TV?

Does anyone have ratings comparisons between ND games on NBC and the SEC games on CBS? (And do those games go outside the southeast on CBS?)

Jim

coyoteugly,
Why are you being so snotty? The little insults and derisions detract from, not strengthen your points.
Are you deliberately pretending to misunderstand what I meant about name recognition? I'm saying that many of the people that the TV surveys show as being tuned in saturdays on NBC are VERY casual fans. This is certainly true for most everyone I know. The people who are NOT football fans will glance a bit at the TV if ND is playing, only because they've heard of them. Football fans who care about the games usually don't watch those broadcasts unless ND is involved in a big and competitive game (which only rarely seems to be the case). I guess you could put this year's Michigan and FSU games in that category.... for the first quarter or so. I tried to find some recent ratings, but the only week I found was from October. That week, USC/ND had fewer viewers than Arkansas/Florida or the ABC games. You say you doubt the networks care about how much the fans are into the games.... That's unfortunately true to some extent, but my original point was about the media driven hype that's forced on us. They are creating that perception. It's certainly not being created by success on the field.

I don't buy your argument about such a huge disparity in admission standards. One of the reasons Willingham came to ND was so that he'd have an easy time recruiting compared to Stanford. If you're under these kind of illusions about the way things are done at ND, you should read Under the Tarnished Dome by Don Yaeger. Also, you seem to have a mistaken notion about the Univ of Miami. UM is a private school with a rather selective enrollment. It IS a good school. Of course, UM and ND as well as most other big time programs, make exceptions for athletes that aren't made for regular students. I'm sure you know that.

"Conspiracy"? Well, if you want to use that word... (don't think it's not transparent as a cheap attempt to discredit that which you can't otherwise - kinda like calling someone a "liberal" when you don't have a better point). College football for years has been controlled by ADs, coaches, and media types who tend to share similar ideological outlooks. Why do you think it so odd that they would do what they can to support the continuance of they way they want things to be? Call that ideology the college football establishment if you like. They have a strong desire to see certain teams succeed (i.e the teams that were good 20-30 years ago). And they want the game played a certain way.

As for my motivations, I'm a college football fan in general and I like to see good football rewarded -- and I'm a little sickened by vague perceptions among non-fans being used as substitute for a real fan base -- and as circular logic to justify continued hype. It's actually your emotional writing that reeks of bias. If I have any dislike for Notre Dame, it's BECAUSE of the things I've listed -- and the dislike is not directed toward the school, but toward the media machine. The team gets much of its perceived status from hype that's chosen and delivered by people with an agenda rather than through performance on the field. If you're the kind of person who defends priviledge rather than merit, there isn't really much more I can or should say.

But I would like to know your motivations. Are you a Notre Dame fan?

The only thing I found (and I didn't look very hard) was this page but it's only one week of sports ratings. The CBS games are carried nationally. I like that because it's the only chance for people in markets like mine to see some big games with teams like Florida, Georgia and LSU. Otherwise, ABC makes us watch Illinois vs. Wisconsin or something similar. :mad:

torsten's "biased officiating" claim was so ridiculous that it soured the entire rest of his argument.

...and where thuggish behavior is tolerated.

{Gator Jamie polishing her halo while angelic sounds rain down from above} wink

Nothing bigger than Big Ten! esp. in Big Ten country like Minnesota ...

3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
6. Michigan
9. Wisconsin

btw -- this is the map of ABC's coverage for the 3:30 game on Saturday. Looks like South Bend gets OK - t.t., and Toledo gets USC - ucla ... New England, New York, South Florida and a little holler in West Virginia get to opt out of the ACC game in favor of the Soon(ers)-to-be National Champs.

Yes! It's true! I am holier than thou! (making the face like the raised-by-wolves guy in the Quizno's commercial)

HA! You may want to believe that officiating is pure and untainted, but years of observation have shown me otherwise. There is definitely an establishment mentality where certain teams (and especially coaches) are favored. Do you honestly believe that all those drive-breaking holding calls that happen in the most crucial turning points of the game are legit? The same kind of "holding" that's been happening play after play is suddenly and strategically called. I've seen it too much and the pattern is pretty obvious.

Torsten, every time you post, one of your arguments contradicts another. Your arguments are flawed logically, and many of the points that you have tried to assert are just plain falsehoods. Many of the points you have presented have simply further cemented that Notre Dame is the most popular team in the land, much to your chagrin.

“I'm saying that many of the people that the TV surveys show as being tuned in saturdays on NBC are VERY casual fans. This is certainly true for most everyone I know. The people who are NOT football fans will glance a bit at the TV if ND is playing, only because they've heard of them.”

There is no statistical or historical data that shows that viewers of Notre Dame games on NBC are more “casual” fans than fans that view telecasts of other networks, and only view the games because they have “heard” of Notre Dame. This is your opinion and it is certainly not factual.

“That's unfortunately true to some extent, but my original point was about the media driven hype that's forced on us. They are creating that perception. It's certainly not being created by success on the field.”

I’m still waiting to here one reasonable explanation from you on WHY the media would over hype Notre Dame as compared to the rest of college football. What is their incentive to do so? You made the statement about the “massive propaganda the sports media hands them year after year.” It’s still unclear to me after reading and re-reading each of your posts why the media would be motivated to do this.

“I don't buy your argument about such a huge disparity in admission standards. One of the reasons Willingham came to ND was so that he'd have an easy time recruiting compared to Stanford.”

“Also, you seem to have a mistaken notion about the Univ of Miami. UM is a private school with a rather selective enrollment. It IS a good school. Of course, UM and ND as well as most other big time programs, make exceptions for athletes that aren't made for regular students. I'm sure you know that.”

Ah yes, the traditional NCAA universities of higher learning. You got me there. Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Stanford, and of course, the fabled University of Miami. From the most recent published reports (by the NCAA) of NCAA graduation rates:

Duke: 93% (All students) 89% (Student athletes)
Northwestern: 92% (All students) 89% (Student athletes)
Notre Dame: 94% (All students) 87% (Student athletes)
Stanford: 92% (All students) 87% (Student athletes)
Miami: 63% (All students) 53% (Student athletes)

Quite comparable numbers. By the way, Notre Dame’s strict admission standards are the same for student athletes as they are for the rest of the student body. There are no exceptions made for athletes. What you are posting about Notre Dame is myth and nothing else.

“The team gets much of its perceived status from hype that's chosen and delivered by people with an agenda rather than through performance on the field. If you're the kind of person who defends priviledge rather than merit, there isn't really much more I can or should say.”

Still waiting to hear the reasons what the motivations are for the supposed “people with an agenda” to hype Notre Dame. The truth is that they don’t have a hidden agenda.

“But I would like to know your motivations. Are you a Notre Dame fan?”

1. I am a Notre Dame fan, as well as several other teams, and I’m certainly not casual, per se. Nor are the legions of Notre Dame fans out there. The school has a national following and appeals to a huge fan base.
2. When someone posts complete falsehoods and opinion, as fact on this board, regardless of this topic, I’m going to stand up and question it, like I have done in this case.
3. I enjoy debating on merit and fact. Unfortunately, I am trying to debate someone who holds a strong opinion, who cannot support his opinion with anything other than additional opinion.

You can keep posting your opinion as long as you want, but it’s pretty clear to everyone that you’re posting your perception , not reality.

Here are the NBC ratings, btw, for ND games:

Year.....Households......Record
1991.....4.5 million.....10-3
1992.....4.4 million.....10-1-1
1993.....6.2 million.....11-1-0
1994.....4.2 million.....6-5-1
1995.....4.6 million.....9-3
1996.....3.3 million.....8-3
1997.....2.9 million.....7-6
1998.....2.8 million.....9-3
1999.....2.7 million.....5-7
2000.....3.3 million.....9-3
2001.....2.5 million.....5-6
2002.....3.3 million.....10-3
2003.....2.7 million......3-6 ... thus far

Source: ND Still Kings of the Small Screen.

McPaper again reports that ND is talking with the Big Ten.

ND has a completely national alumni base, which is a big part of the strong national following. I can tell you when ND plays in the NY metropolitan area the alumni snap up tickets instantly, we host parties to watch together if we're not going to the game, etc.

As for comparing ND and Miami, that's like comparing Tom Cruise to Don Knotts - Miami athletes are often felons with shoe sizes higher than their IQ's, while ND athletes mirror the student body, with top 20% SAT scores and strong records of academic and personal achievment. I graduated 20 years ago this year, and I go back for a game every couple of years, and I have NEVER felt an athlete was getting preferential treatment in admissions, grading, etc. The faculty, alumni and other students wouldn't tolerate it.

coyoteugly,
For a just-the-facts kind of person, you sure spend a lot of time writing (derisively and condescendingly) about the other person. You're treating it more like a personal pissing contest than a discussion of ideas. So... in keeping with your line of discourse, a few points come to mind: You can pretend to be a defender of fact against perception, but pretending is mostly what you're doing -- throwing around words like "logic" quite easily, but not being the best practitioner of it. You like to speak of concepts such as "merit," yet you don't mind recognition and publicity being awarded based on something other than performance on the field.

Now let's refocus for a minute: My main point (that the media incessantly hypes the ND football program and hands them publicity that they choose not to hand to other teams) IS factual. The reasons why they do that are not really within the realm of proof. My view of the motivations come from years of listening to the media while observing the game objectively. Your view of the motivations apparently stems from your fondness of Notre Dame and your wish to believe that anything which comes their way must be deserved (see the smarmy na-na-na-na paragraph where you switch to 3rd grade smack-talk mode). When looking for bias, perhaps you could check your mirror once in a while instead of instinctively pointing fingers.

Did you read "Under the Tarnished Dome"?

Quote: "The truth is that they don't have a hidden agenda."
I'll use your tactics here for a bit.... The truth? Sounds like you have some "facts" that "prove" something.... Where are they? Prove that it's impossible for there to be a similar ideological outlook among many coaches ADs and media.

Quote: "There is no statistical or historical data that shows that viewers of Notre Dame games on NBC are more "casual" fans than fans that view telecasts of other networks, and only view the games because they have "heard" of Notre Dame. This is your opinion and it is certainly not factual."
You're right, Nielsen's don't measure this, and I didn't allege otherwise. Again, there is no way to prove it one way or the other. So.... you say it is my "opinion," Well, it certainly is. An opinion which you say "is certainly not factual." Oh really? By what standard are you evaluating its "factual" nature? By YOUR opinion?

Quote: "The most popular team in the land"?
Please. Since you insist on being factual, how about adding some precision to what you claim. Using the term "popular" without defining it is pretty meaningless. Surveys such as the poll in this thread measure mostly name recognition among a large % of people who are not football fans. If you want to be accurate, just say that Notre Dame may be the most recognized name among casual and non-fans. And yes, my opinion, (a valid one) is that the recognition is due more to media hype than performance on the field.

Quote: "I'm still waiting to here one reasonable explanation from you on WHY the media would over hype Notre Dame as compared to the rest of college football. What is their incentive to do so? ..... It's still unclear to me after reading and re-reading each of your posts why the media would be motivated to do this."
Alright, that's a good honest question, though I thought I'd touched on it earlier. The answer is that it's done for the same reasons they hype Michigan, Nebraska, Alabama, etc. over teams like Florida, FSU, & Miami. It's a traditionalist ideological mindset (favoring past success over a more recent success that they resent). It's the same mindset that favors a certain style of play as well (i.e. an almost exclusive emphasis on running the ball, special teams, and defense -- and an aversion to offensive sophistication and innovation). If you want to go further and ask why people have those preferences, it's a little like asking why people are liberals or conservatives. The roots are probably in human psychology. People can look at the world with similar vision but come to vastly different conclusions about how they want things to be.

BTW, I'm not suggesting in any of my posts that true Notre Dame fans such as yourself are any less passionate about their team than other fans. They sell out their expanded stadium and have a great base of real support. I'm just saying that once you get outside that core, you don't find a nation of people who care about ND to the degree the media tries to suggest.

You have some serious problems engaging in intelligent discourse, sir.

You like to make claims, and when they’re challenged with fact/truth/etc., you focus on nearly everything but responding to the challenge. You cannot back up what you write, so why write it?

Your claims are pure fallacy, hearsay and folklore. You make statements. I ask you to back them up. You can’t. I point that out. And you point your finger back at me. Fine, it’s pointed back at me. I stand by what I have written in previous posts.

In conclusion, I think your following quote pretty much sums up this thread and the validity of your claims “My main point (that the media incessantly hypes the ND football program and hands them publicity that they choose not to hand to other teams) IS factual. The reasons why they do that are not really within the realm of proof.”

So let me get this straight,
1. They’re factual.
2. They’re not really within the realm of proof.

Do you read what you write?

“I'm just saying that once you get outside that core, you don't find a nation of people who care about ND to the degree the media tries to suggest.”

The numbers are there. The numbers always will be there.

I could go on and on, but we’re really just beating a dead horse here, aren’t we? Plus, I’m sure the Mod’s will step in anyway and put an end to this sooner or later.

What you’ve written about Notre Dame says more about the validity of your arguments than I could ever refute here.

Can you really convince yourself that you're not the one with the discourse problem? I hate to break this to you, but saying something doesn't make it so. Again, perhaps some rereading of your own posts might be a good thing -- with particular emphasis on tone and style. You seem to have learned well from talk radio demagogues. Everything seems to depend on suggested distortions and out of context quotes that can be creatively spun if you ignore the other things that were said. Not to mention the constant personal jabs that your self-esteem seems to need for some reason.

I'll try one more time (and this is the last) with the example you made prominent:

*************************************
Quote: In conclusion, I think your following quote pretty much sums up this thread and the validity of your claims “My main point (that the media incessantly hypes the ND football program and hands them publicity that they choose not to hand to other teams) IS factual. The reasons why they do that are not really within the realm of proof.”

So let me get this straight,
1. They’re factual.
2. They’re not really within the realm of proof.
*******************************************

That is correct! If you'd bother to read the sentences you quoted, you'd notice that the "they" you refer to are SEPARATE things. Namely 1.) the fact of the hype itself, and 2.) the motivations for doing it. I explained that #1 was within the realm of fact and #2 was not within the realm of proof (i.e. it is opinion).

That's not too difficult to understand. And I don't believe for a minute that you didn't.
You've learned your tactics well, but they're an insult to the logic and reason you professed to admire.

You think mods are needed? Ha. I assure you I'm not going to continue writing multiple paragraphs to someone whose method is to distort most of what I say and spend his time wallowing in personal slights and pathethic claims of victory rather than fairly addressing the points. Like you, I stand by what what I've written in the previous posts. And for this topic I think we've both wasted more than enough time.

I find this topic very amusing. ND is one of the most popular teams in the country due to a couple of reasons, in addition to football. ND is one of the most popular teams because of 1) the school is one of the most prominent Catholic universities in the world and 2) people with Irish heritage generally revere Notre Dame.

If you want to focus on football, well how about this:

1. Notre Dame has won more National Championships than any other school.

2. Notre Dame has more Heisman Trophy winners, then any other school.

3. Notre Dame has produced more All-Americans, than any other school.

Bottom line, ND is a big draw. In fact, it's a guaranteed sellout for whenever ND goes on the road for whomever they are playing. It's always the hardest ticket in town, to get. I live in Pittsburgh and every time ND comes here to play, the Pitt athletic department has to come up with a way to keep ND fans out of the stadium, and still, ND fans usually make up more than 40% of the crowd. Of course, it also ensures a complete sellout and the largest crowd of the year for Pitt.

As for your argument about ND getting breaks from the officials, please cite examples. ND always gets screwed by the officials, especially whenever they travel to Los Angeles or play down south. The Big 10 officiating crew doesn't do ND any favors either.

I would like to bring in as an exhibit the NYC Metro Area, of which I lived on its outskirts. We have NO good (as in perennial chance at bowl game) D1 football teams. Rutgers was the only one in the metro area to begin with until UConn bumped up to D1. You can't help but grow up seeing Notre Dame play, like how some people who grew up without a pro baseball team around root for the Cubs or the Braves. They're the ones they see all the time.

To me, this list just demonstrates which teams had strong years in the 90's (albeit ND's came in the beginning of the decade).