Notre Dame Irish Won't Fight for Singers

The home of the "Fighting Irish," the University of Notre Dame, stood strong against the assorted activists who objected to the school's time-honored tradition of inviting the President of the United States, when that particular president was Barack Obama.

There is no shortage of traditions at the 167-year-old school, few of them as weighty as the commencement speaker, but all tenacious. Most of the famous (if sometimes unusual) traditions are in football. So it's more than a little jarring to hear that ND did not honor a cherished tradition, instead knuckling under to the demands of NBC, which televised the most recent home game, versus its most traditional rival, Navy. As part of the (yes, traditional) ND Glee Club Reunion, current and former members join the ND Marching Band -- several hundred people in all -- to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner." Except this year they didn't. And the plans, nay dreams, of at least one family were dashed, as this letter to university and network officials attests.

Dear Father Jenkins, Dr. Affleck-Graves, Mr. Swarbrick:

As a Notre Dame graduate, I have enjoyed the Notre Dame Football game broadcasts on NBC ever since they started covering the Irish.

As the parent of a current Notre Dame Senior that is a member of the Band of the Fighting Irish, I am very appreciative of the webcasts of the band's halftime show.

As an alumnus of the Notre Dame Glee Club, preparing to depart for South Bend for the Glee Club Alumni Reunion weekend, I am incredibly disappointed. This evening, I learned, that at NBC's request, the Glee Club has been bumped from our tradition of singing the National Anthem during our reunion weekend. This is a long-standing tradition of the Glee Club which has been graciously supported by the Band. Apparently, NBC has dictated that the band play the National Anthem for this game so it can be covered as part of a special pre-game show. NBC has rarely or perhaps never broadcasted the pre-game or National Anthem in the past. Now they are being allowed to dictate to the University. I know there is a significant relationship between NBC and the University but they should not be allowed to dictate a change of a long held tradition for the University and the Glee Club. Perhaps NBC isn't aware of the unintended consequences of this decision.

This last minute change is depriving a large group of men, current Glee Clubbers and over 200 Glee Club alumni, of the privilege of singing the National Anthem for the 80,000 fans, friends and family members in the stadium. This reunion and our performance of the National Anthem have been planned for months. Coming to the table on the Thursday before the game and dictating this change was thoughtless to say the least. For me personally, this change is depriving me of a long-awaited, Once-in-a-Lifetime dream. I have been anticipating the opportunity to be on the field performing at the same time as my son since he started at Notre Dame and was selected for the Marching Band three years ago. This chance won't come again.
....

Sincerely,

[name of real person removed]
University of Notre Dame, BA 1983

Sure, I am well aware that this situation is not really comparable to the brouhaha over graduation this past spring. But the change in the ND-Navy schedule got zero publicity, and I wouldn't have heard of it either except that I happened to be at the ND Glee Club Reunion. No, I'm no ND or glee club alumna, but I have a forum, and I'm prepared to use it.

 

Comments

[DocQuantum]

(continued)

5. College athletics: are they about the money? Yes. Are they entirely about the money, and should they be? At Notre Dame, at least, the debate continues.

http://www.thecatholicthing.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=887&Itemid=2

6. Father Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, has the job of steering the university between the Scylla and Charybdis of the shade of Johann Tetzel and the spectre of Patrick Reilly. I wouldn’t want his job (and, not being ordained, I can’t have it). A career in corporate law would be less stressful, I think.

7. We never look for trouble, that’s a fact you can assume.

8. This NDGC alumnus had a good time and is looking forward to the club’s 100th anniversary reunion in 2015.

[DocQuantum]

An octave of notes about Ms. Pilecki’s posts and the comments made so far:

1. I am a member of the University of Notre Dame Glee Club and attended the reunion. I had the pleasure of talking with the Lady with the Hat whose post has given us a forum for our comments.

2. Ms. Pilecki writes regularly for Huffington Post on media matters (note the forum in which this post appeared). Recently, she compared her view of G-20 protests in her Pittsburgh neighborhood with the television and newspaper coverage they received. NBC’s disinvitation of the Glee Club may not be national headline news, but is of interest to those who follow the way media organizations report, and sometimes affect, events.

3. I am aware of, and appreciate, the traditions of oldest collegiate marching band still in existence.

4. I am confident that my Brüder in the club can have, and did have, an enjoyable weekend despite NBC’s actions. Was there some disappointment? Yes. Did one Club member miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Yes. Does the Club have a constitutional right, state or federal, to be on the field for the pre-game ceremonies? No. Is dropping a group from pre-game ceremonies with 48 hours notice a tad tacky? You betcha.

[Dad2]

Congrats to Nashvilleoutsider for his wise comments about a fun and nostalgic weekend under the Dome. I joked with friends about how much money Notre Dame was able to garner by selling its athletic department to NBC, but I guess that's already in the public record.

Yes, singing the National Anthem for 80,000 fans and possibly a national audience would have been a great privilege, but as an older, more curmudgeonly alumni, I've done it before. Actually, I did again Saturday, from my seat way up in section 21.

[nashvilleoutsider]

This weekend was about old friendships and new ones. It was about singing the songs that we forgot we knew. It was about hearing stories of how the guys did things differently once upon a time, and how the tradition is still evolving into other things, always beautiful. It was not about reliving the past or the glory days, but rather it was about basking in the gift we have all been given by being lucky enough to sing in the group and serve our friends and the greater community with song. And it was about drinking beer.

It would have been great to sing our nation's anthem in front of thousands of loyal Irish fans, but after the joy I experienced this weekend with the reunion concert, ND in Revue concert, banquet, and various social opportunities, it wouldn't feel right to complain or feel slighted in the least. Maybe I should care more about singing at the game, but honestly I didn't miss it. It was way more than enough to simply be on campus with my fellow Clubbers, celebrating our shared experience.

[nashvilleoutsider]

I am a member of the Glee Club, class of 2006, and I was also at the reunion this past weekend. Counting my first reunion, when I was still an undergrad, and the reunion in the fall of 2006, this year was my third time celebrating Glee Club tradition with hundreds of my brothers in song.

The fact that this is on the Huffington Post is a bit funny to me too, as I feel this is relevant news to no one outside of the Notre Dame family, or more specifically, the Glee Club alumni network.

Also, as a side note, it was my impression in both 2003 and 2006 that it was a privilege for us to be able to sing on the field, not necessarily something to which we were entitled. In fact, I remember thinking that maybe we were encroaching on the band's territory.

That all being said, I have to take exception with the tone here. Anyone who left this weekend disappointed did not attend the same reunion I did, or at the very least missed the point.

[To be continued]

[bulicny]

This isn't much of a tradition. I was in the Notre Dame Marching Band from 1981-1986, and the Glee Club never performed with us on the field, reunion or not.

[unitron]

So NBC could have had both the band AND the glee club AND the glee club alumni and the chance to do a little color on the tradition behind it, and they said, "No thanks, we only want the band"?

EPIC FAIL!

Maybe they were afraid it would make the anthem take a few seconds longer into which they couldn't plug a commercial.

Shame on NBC for being that stupid, but greater shame on Notre Dame for not telling NBC, "This is how we're going to do the anthem, the way we always have. Deal with it.".

[cplKlyde]

Whoa semi-pro football teams knuckle under to the networks and the shoe companies. I'm shocked.