05-16-2015, 03:37 PM
As I recall, that ND halftime show was titled "These Irish, why must they fight?" The script introduced a character who was called, I believe, Seamus O'Hungry. The script said the Irish have a sparse cultural heritage that consists only of fighting and starving, and it suggested that NotreDame should call its teams the Blighting Irish.
The press described it as a parody of the potato famine, which was not really true. The point was to poke fun at ND's Fighting Irish nickname, not to poke fun at the potato famine.
To the extent the Irish still are viewed stereotypically as being drunken brawlers, I would argue that the NotreDame nickname is in part responsible for perpetuating that image. In fact, if there's one cultural reference to that stereotype that just about everyone knows, it's ND's nickname. That nickname deserves to have someone poke fun at it. The Band had the right idea, but the execution left something to be desired.
The press described it as a parody of the potato famine, which was not really true. The point was to poke fun at ND's Fighting Irish nickname, not to poke fun at the potato famine.
To the extent the Irish still are viewed stereotypically as being drunken brawlers, I would argue that the NotreDame nickname is in part responsible for perpetuating that image. In fact, if there's one cultural reference to that stereotype that just about everyone knows, it's ND's nickname. That nickname deserves to have someone poke fun at it. The Band had the right idea, but the execution left something to be desired.