What about the TW's players....

It is with an equal amount of amusement and confusion that I read some of the comments on this site. Let me preface by saying, that I am not an ND hater, nor to be candid, a die-in-wool adamant ND alum, rather just a football fan, as well as ex D1 player, who is captured by the swirl of engagement and pigskin gossip that only ND fans can produce.

My first observation is that there is, at least from an outside observer, a fair degree of paradox and antilogy involved with your support of the program. If indeed, the imprimatur trait of ND fans is to be positive supporters of the program in all kinds of weather; then why all the constant, and sometimes quite sharp criticism that excoriateTW’s remaining players? What escapes me is an earnest admission that these players our still within the program, still contribute to the program, and I would still think, an integral part of the ND family. The way they are referred to in the 3rd person, or even in the academic abstract does them no justice, and further it dilutes the entire equitable concept of team. It appears, by some of these blog comments, that these men have a lesser a thletic pedigree, and thus not respected on the same level of recruits made by CW, the relegating them to a type of second class citizenship within the program. It was be entirely polly-anish to think there are not affected by such acerbic commentary.

I will acknowledge that the context of these types of comments are to critically evaluate the shortcomings of the current program, however it does not reconcile the fact that you obviously treat such young athletes, that are ubiquitously refered to as men of character, as subordinate to the CW recruits. More point being--is that some of the writers here, should be a bit more deferential to those TW players still in the program, and that there needs to be a reflection that these types of off-handed references neither serve as a positive emollient or a cultivation of team support in a collective basis.