Notre Dame "Fighting Irish" Name Change

Irish Americans are on the warpath over the derogatory characterization of their native people by that insensitive Catholic university with the French name. Nobody seems to know for sure who was the politically incorrect hooligan that first used the name Fighting Irish to describe the athletes of Notre Dame.

The most generally accepted explanation is that the press coined the nickname as a characterization of Notre Dame athletic teams, their never-say-die fighting spirit and the Irish qualities of grit, determination and tenacity. The term likely began as an abusive expression tauntingly directed toward the athletes from the small, private, Catholic institution. Notre Dame alumnus Francis Wallace popularized it in his New York Daily News columns in the 1920s.

The Notre Dame Scholastic, in a 1929 edition, printed its own version of the story:

"The term 'Fighting Irish' has been applied to Notre Dame teams for years. It first attached itself years ago when the school, comparatively unknown, sent its athletic teams away to play in another city ...At that time the title 'Fighting Irish' held no glory or prestige ...

"The years passed swiftly and the school began to take a place in the sports world ...'Fighting Irish' took on a new meaning. The unknown of a few years past has boldly taken a place among the leaders. The unkind appellation became symbolic of the struggle for supremacy of the field. ...The team [name], while given in irony, has become our heritage. ...So truly does it represent us that we unwilling to part with it ..."

Notre Dame competed under the nickname "Catholics" during the 1800s and became more widely known as the "Ramblers" during the early 1920s in the days of the Four Horsemen.

University president Rev. Matthew Walsh, C.S.C., officially adopted "Fighting Irish" as the Notre Dame nickname in 1927.

But times have changed. Henceforth, the athletic teams of Notre Dame should be named for the university's official colors, the Notre Dame Gold & Blue.

To quote the doyen of political correctitude, "The perspective of time has shown us that our actions, intended or not, can offend others. We must not knowingly act in a way that others will believe, based on their experience, to be an attack on their dignity as fellow human beings."

It won't be easy for the administration at Notre Dame to explain the new name to the student body, which will surely be the laughingstock of college sports. But it seems to be the only way to go, now that a lesser-known Catholic university, with an equally French name, recently took the politically expedient high road and refused alumni requests to restore the honor of their traditional team name, the Marquette Warriors, choosing instead to be known simply as the Marquette Gold.

Update 05/08/05: "This is not something that is going to just blow over," says one alum who's really upset about the Name Change at Marquette.

Update 07/25/05: After a plebiscite at Marquette University, the team name reverted from Gold to Golden Eagles, but dye hard Warriors seem conflicted.