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11/07/2006 11:34pm by Jeff Jeffers - Sports Director
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Notre Dame
Whenever teams go to Colorado Springs to face the Air Force Academy, there is always the issue of altitude. Falcon Stadium stands about 6,000 feet above sea level and the air is a lot thinner than what teams are accustomed when their home base is lower.
Charlie Weis was quite clear on Tuesday what he thinks about the rarefield air.
"Don't even bring it up with the players because they're not going to talk about it."
Weis related that when he was in the NFL and his teams played in Denver there were two ways to approach the higher altitude. One was to head west two days in advance to adjust. But the Broncos usually won so the regimen was changed.
New England went to Denver on a regular schedule and played just as if it were a game played in Kansas City, Seattle or Minneapolis.
Weis also mentioned that any effects of the higher altitude does not come into effect until a person has been at that altitude for at least 48 hours.
So the Irish will head out on Friday afternoon, play Saturday afternoon and come back to campus Saturday night.
Have any of our readers had an experience watching a game or participating in higher altitudes ? Let us know
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Comments
john kandlstorfer
at 11/09/2006 10:33am
Go Falcons
jay
at 11/09/2006 10:48am
You are such a hater. Leave ND alone. Wah, wah, wah
ND FAN
at 11/09/2006 11:03am
TO JOHN....WHATEVER!!!!!!
Weis guy
at 11/09/2006 11:49am
John, are you an AF fan or just another jealous ND
hater. One thing for sure, ND
has more national champs,
trophy winners, higher grad
rates, more tv games, and
more class than your team,
whoever that is. And if your
team is Michigan, like I suspect, just remember, except
for this year, ND has done pretty well against Mich, and
ND is just getting started.
tony
at 11/09/2006 12:50pm
You know I am so sick of ND fans throwing Heisman Trophy and National championship numbers around. You have 7 Heisman's and only ONE since 1969 and that was still almost 15 years ago. Yes you have shared many National Championships but the last OUTRIGHT one was 1943. Please get over yourself. As far as tradition goes, my defintion is an occurance that happens routinely not every 25 years. Just ask yourselves: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY???
tony
at 11/09/2006 01:05pm
My bad on the National Championships. I missed 1988. Never the less so there was 1 outright before then. ND is nowhere close to where they were in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. I am from Wisconsin so that is like me saying the Packers have all this tradition and championship because they were so dominant in the 30's and 60's. They have one Championship since the 60's. Yet I don't go around saying they are the greatest team ever every year and blow them up as a championship team when they are not. I am realistic, unlike you ND fans
ND Fan
at 11/09/2006 01:23pm
Get Lost Tony...you are in the wrong blog...you are not invited nor welcomed with your comments...HATER!!!!!
Don't be hating!!!!!
Don't be jealous!!!!
It is OK, there is no other collegiate football team in the nation that is rich in tradition like Notre Dame...you know it's true Tiger...so put your Frosted Flakes in a pipe and smoke it pal...b/c you have no clue or idea what you are talking about...it is obvious, you had to correct yourself the second time around!!!
NDFan1965
at 11/09/2006 01:34pm
Okay the haters made me do it :-)
Well I remember the leaves a fallin'
And far off music like pipes a callin'
And I remember the golden morning
I saw the long ranks as they were forming
And there's a magic in the sound of their name
Here come the Irish of Notre Dame
The pilgrims follow by the sacred waters
And arm in arm go the sons and daughters
The drums are rolling and forward bound
They're calling spirits up from the ground
And there's a magic in the sound of their name
Here come the Irish of Notre Dame
NDFan1965
at 11/09/2006 01:35pm
Heel - toe
Heel - toe
Go Irish!!!
jay
at 11/09/2006 01:39pm
Excellent NDFan1965, Excellent my friend!!!!!
tony
at 11/09/2006 01:43pm
Jealous of ND. I don't think so. Yup, I want to root for a team that loses every big game they play. I want to root for a team that hasn't won any of their last EIGHT bowl games. I want to root for a team that hasn't sniffed the National Championship in almost 20 years. Keep it up ND and before long you will have the Cubs nickname: "THE LOVABLE LOSERS"
jay
at 11/09/2006 01:45pm
That was just so excellent NDFan1965. I mean I love it when other people can sick up for the Irish themselves. Especially since I am so incompetent to come up with my owm thoughs.
NDFan1965
at 11/09/2006 01:51pm
Oh my what hostility you have.....See what the haters do not realize is that it matters little if we win the Championship - sure we would like to - but it's just how us FANS are. Yes like the CUBS we are DIE HARD no matter what. That's the big differnece between the "jump on the badwagon" other schools who claim to be fans only when their team is up. I'm assuming the hate comes from just that because - as you say we haven't won a title game in so long.
1812 Overture comes to mind!
Steve
at 11/09/2006 01:51pm
Like Tony said, wake me when Notre Dame wins a game that means something. I love it how you Irish fans back your team up with meaningless banter and no facts. That just shows that these none Notre Dame fans know what they are talking about because you can't fin facts or numbers to dispute them
Weis guy
at 11/09/2006 01:51pm
Yep Tony, it has been too long, But ND won't quit until
they find the right coach. IT's obvious Davie, and Ty were not the right guys.
Hopefully Charlie is. I am
encouraged so far. By the way,
tradition does matter, and I
have seen ND win 3 titles, 1
in person, how many has your
team won?
tony
at 11/09/2006 01:58pm
Yes I agree ND fans are die hard and that is definitely respectable. My problem is when I hear comments like "Quinn should still win the Heisman" and ND deserves a BCS game. (They do if they win out but they don't if they lose to USC, in my opinion). I am a die hard Packer fan. I root for them as hard now as I did 10 years ago. The difference is I am realistic about the fact that they are not a great team this year. You could even say they are below average. ND on the other hand is just an average team until they beat someone that matters but you doomers just are realistic enough to realize that
tony
at 11/09/2006 02:04pm
Weis guy I'll tell you right now Charlie is the right guy. He is very smart and he has guts. The problem is it will take a few years for them to even contend for a National Championship. I'd say about 2-3 years to be exact. College football is just to balance no days. Look at this year. It is considered a down year for all of college football and they still are like 10 one loss teams. I wouldn't measure Charlie's success in championships because it is really hard just to get to that game. I feel his success will and should be measured in bowl game wins and loss and "Big" game wins and losses. See I can talk nice about ND too, because my I think realistically
ND Fan
at 11/09/2006 02:04pm
OK, Mr. Know-It-All Steve, you're like Tony...you both talk about ND Fans not knowing what they're talking about...and you both do? Please!!!! Give me a break!!! You guys are nothing but a balloon full of hot air. Quit hating, quit being jealous....HATERS!!!
Weis guy
at 11/09/2006 02:13pm
Fair enough Tony, if ND isn't
a contender in 3 years, when
his recruits are Juniors and
Seniors, then I say get rid of
Weis and bring back Faust.
Just the Facts
at 11/09/2006 02:15pm
I love ND but we have to accept the facts. They haven't beaten a top 10 (end of the year) team in quite some time. This year is no different. We played 2 good teams. One, Michigan made us look like Temple and the other Georgia Tech we escaped with our lives. It is nice that we beat all the teams we are suppose to, but to be a great team you have to beat the good and great teams. We are 1-1 in that respect this year. If we beat USC we will get a BCS bid, if not...Cotton Bowl here we come. I am rooting for the Irish all the way, but we need to come to terms with what we have (and haven't) accomplished.
NDFan1965
at 11/09/2006 02:24pm
I agree we haven't really played well against top 10 teams, however just look at the top 10 or even the top 15 for that matter. Who has OH State really played other than Texas (W/out a few top defense guys that day) and MI played us. Texas - OH State, WV and Louisville played each otehr with Rutgers to come. Auburn and USC haven't really impressed me either with sub-par wins by the skins and FL and TN are stuck in the middle of a tango. My point is the SOS of each of these teams stinks. But, that is what the BCS wanted it to come down to is having a dominant team like FL State used to be with the very light SOS in the 90's. Pool the top 50 together and play 10 games with a 6-team playoff at the end then play the title game! Who am I to say how college football should be ran - just the only sporting event that doesn't carry wieght with playoffs!
tony
at 11/09/2006 02:39pm
It is kind funny how a ND fan says pretty much what I was saying and now you get it NDFan1965. You say who has everyone else played here we go. First I will give you the Ohio St. and Michigan have played 1 tough game each. Texas has played Ohio St. at home, Nebraska on the road and Oklahoma in Dallas. Louisville has played Miami (yes they are not that good but it shows they are trying to play someone), WV and Rutgers tonight. Not impressive but you can't help it too much when that is your conference. Auburn, Florida, Arkansas, LSU and Tenn all play 2 or 3 games amongst them and Tenn crushed Cal. USC played Arkansas and Nebraska and still play Cal, Oregon and ND so we will see about them. Cal played Tenn. (even though they were crushed and they beat Oregon and still play USC. I would say some of these are pretty impressive.
NDFan1965
at 11/09/2006 03:16pm
I guess where I'm coming from as an avid fan is that I am quick to the gun when it comes to defending ND. Afterall, all I hear all the time is oh ND plays nobody this that etc. but noone wants to look at the other teams and who they play. ND has always had the NAVY and will forever - tradition and rightly so. They have tried for years to get people to come play, but no one wants to play us in the late season. Stanford, GT, MI, MI State, Washington, Purdue these teams have been power houses all these years and we get knocked for it! I'm not saying other teams out there have weaker SOS, because they are in the same boat as were have been with regards to the above. Teams are not what they used to be. I will also defend that I think ND is being handed the yellow flag this year a tad too blatant. Again, passed over 3 weeks in a row with no regard - 2 teams had a bye for goodness sakes! Maybe, I can slightly see the Cal thingie, but not 3 weeks in a row. I honestly think ND deserves to be #6 right now instead of #9. ND dropped I think 12 when they lost to MI (ranked #2), Auburn dropped I think only 8 when they lost to Arkansas and FL dropped only 6 or maybe even 4 when they lost to Auburn. I can see the WV drop justified!
tony
at 11/09/2006 03:48pm
Two things: First is I think the reason ND has a hard time getting games late in the season is because everyone else is in the conference schedule. The power teams get worried enough about conference games and don't want to throw a ND team in the middle. I have no problem with ND playing the academies. I don't have a problem with ND playing a lighter schedule. I just want to see them win a game or two against the tough teams on their schedule, not just beat the teams they are supposed to but win games that they shouldn't or the toss up games. Second you say ND should be ranked #6. Between these teams who do you think is a sure bet or even a close bet on ND winning on a neutral field: Ohio St., Michigan, Texas, Florida, Auburn, Cal, USC, LSU, Tenn., and Wisconsin. I really honestly think all these teams can beat ND. They all have pretty good offenses and most have excellent defenses
Rutgers Coach
at 11/09/2006 04:25pm
We will beat Louisville tonight....Louisville is weak and should not be ranked #3 in the nation.
Not a Louisville Fan
at 11/09/2006 04:30pm
Don't have to watch tonights game. Here is the score Louisville - 38 Rutgers - 21
Edward Lech
at 11/09/2006 11:57pm
If you want to watch the Notre
Dame game without cable or a
dish this is what you do.
Go to tvunetworks.com. Follow
the instructions and download
the TVUPLAYER. After download
follow the instructions again
to set it up. After setup
click CSTV from the menu.
Wait for the picture to stable
ize and you're ready to go. You must have broadband.
Good luck. The game starts
at 4pm eastern time.
Weis guy
at 11/10/2006 07:12am
Here we go about schedules again. Let's try this again.
ND ducks no one, they never have. Every year they play
someone good, FSU, TENN,GT,
Penn st, BC, Nebraska, etc. That does
not include regular games
against Mich, and USC every
year. On top of that how many
teams start the season with the likes of GT, or Pitt on the road? Most team start off
with a couple of cream puffs.
Every year, ND starts with one
of the toughest schedules in
the country, at least on paper. It's not ND's fault if
teams that are traditionally
decent, PSU, Purdue, MSU,
UCLA, turn out to be bad.
And yes it is true that ND
usually has a weak schedule at
the end of the year, but that's because bigger conference teams don't want to play later, when they are
in their conference schedue.
Rutgers Coach
at 11/10/2006 08:40am
Hey, Not a Louisville Fan...want to change your mind and score...told you so...Louisville is not what they crack up to be and hopefully these pollsters and voters will notice the same thing and agree when the polls come out.
