At a time when newspapers are struggling to maintain circulation, it’s always a thrill to find new subscribers–especially in a remote outpost such as South Bend, Ind.
That’s why I smiled when Notre Dame coach Ty Willingham, riding an emotional high after eliminating mighty Stanford from national-title contention Saturday, mentioned that “some guy from Chicago put us 15th” in last week’s Associated Press media poll.
I’m that guy–although, for the record, I’m from Phoenix.
“Is he here?” Willingham asked after the game. “I don’t want to offend him.”
As it happened, I was in Madison, Wis., watching Penn State and Wisconsin swat each other around. But a friend phoned me at the Camp Randall Stadium press box and said I had been “called out” in front of my colleagues.
I’m sorry I couldn’t have been in South Bend. I decided to skip the game because, if I may be frank, I’d heard the last Stanford coach left the cupboard bare. The Cardinal didn’t figure to cause much trouble for one of the most feared teams in the history of college football.
But I want Ty to know I appreciate his concern. I certainly took no offense. Had I been in the Bend, I would have asked Ty whether I ought to vote his team higher or lower. He never said. Maybe he’ll tell his delivery boy, who can pass the message on to me.
I don’t have time to write to every subscriber, but with an eye toward maintaining our subscription base in area code 574, I figured I’d better make an exception here. I’d hate for Ty to cancel our paper and begin taking the New York Times, whose computer ranks the Irish No. 1. Talk about a circulation stunt.
Sudden thought: Maybe Ty isn’t a subscriber. He has to be. I can’t picture him bumming the sports section off undergrads at the LaFortune Student Center.
I generally don’t explain my vote. But it’s a weekly poll. If Notre Dame keeps winning, it will keep rising.
Even a subway alum can grasp the concept.
By voting Notre Dame 14th, I’m not saying the Irish won’t make it to the Fiesta Bowl, although their fans ought to run to the nearest grotto and pray that doesn’t happen. History shows what awaits undeserving Notre Dame teams in Tempe, Ariz. You thought Colorado 41, Notre Dame 24 and Oregon State 41, Notre Dame 9 were painful to watch? Wait until Miami name-the-score, Notre Dame 3 unfolds.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. As Ty has often said, we all need to take it one game at a time–and one poll, I might add. The subscriber is always right.
Bagnato’s AP ballot
1. Miami
2. Virginia Tech
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Ohio State
8. Florida State
9. Washington State
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10. Iowa State
11. Tennessee
12. Florida
13. Kansas State
14. Notre Dame
15. Air Force
16. Southern California
17. Iowa
18. Penn State
19. Alabama
20. Colorado
21. Arkansas
22. N.C. State
23. Auburn
24. Michigan
25. Bowling Green