[Leftcoast]

Sometimes you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. 

To play contrarian here, anti-ND sentiment is a minority view - at least on game day.  The atmosphere in Stanford stadium was ELECTRIC for the 2016 N.otre Dame game just as it was in 2010, 2012 and 2014.  This year's game gave us the best pre-kickoff stadium buzz of the season and was the only game where the crowd stormed the field after a win.  I've got a picture on my cell phone of a friend standing at the 30 yard line thanking a beaming Brennan Scarlett that  I sure didn't get after we played the mighty Knights of UCF.  As a fan would you trade the ND atmosphere for that seen against our past OOC foes - say TCU, Navy, Sac State, Duke or Wake Forest?  Or predict that atmosphere against Kansas St in 2016 or 2021?

Setting aside a fans perspective, there is value for our playoff aspirations in playing a late season game against a blue chip, ranked rival.  There is value in a showcase game for recruits who must love it as they were all over our sideline this year.  There is value in playing N.otre Dame to the Stanford players who look forward to the game and are pumped by the rivalry.

So .... why the Cardboard hate for playing ND?  I mean, the Leprechaun is ugly and the fans entitled but their demeanor improves after a thorough Stanford shellacking.  Heck, perhaps we're doing the rest of CFB nation a favor by playing (and beating) N.otre Dame!

[Leftcoast]

Sometimes you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. 

To play contrarian here, anti-ND sentiment is a minority view - at least on game day.  The atmosphere in Stanford stadium was ELECTRIC for the 2016 N.otre Dame game just as it was in 2010, 2012 and 2014.  This year's game gave us the best pre-kickoff stadium buzz of the season and was the only game where the crowd stormed the field after a win.  I've got a picture on my cell phone of a friend standing at the 30 yard line thanking a beaming Brennan Scarlett that  I sure didn't get after we played the mighty Knights of UCF.  As a fan would you trade the ND atmosphere for that seen against our past OOC foes - say TCU, Navy, Sac State, Duke or Wake Forest?  Or predict that atmosphere against Kansas St in 2016 or 2021?

Setting aside a fans perspective, there is value for our playoff aspirations in playing a late season game against a blue chip, ranked rival.  There is value in a showcase game for recruits who must love it as they were all over our sideline this year.  There is value in playing N.otre Dame to the Stanford players who look forward to the game and are pumped by the rivalry.

So .... why the Cardboard hate for playing ND?  I mean, the Leprechaun is ugly and the fans entitled but their demeanor improves after a thorough Stanford shellacking.  Heck, perhaps we're doing the rest of CFB nation a favor by playing (and beating) N.otre Dame!