What fuels ND's football popularity at this point?

[RuffRuff]

Someone mentioned it in a post in another thread - but ND seems to continue to be the nucleus of dominoes in all this. Everyone is waiting on them to move towards destiny on all this. What prevents ND from moving - their exclusive TV contract. What I don't get - why do they have such a lucrative contract? They have been a non entity in college football for ages at this point. With Gen Y'ers moving in, having ADD and no attention span for history/nostalgia, what the heck is fueling ND's popularity as an isolated college franchise/figure? Do they still get the ratings/generate the revenue to make that contract worth it? Texas I get - they're THE university in a highly populated state that is absolutely fanatical about football. They're significant, current in their success.

At some point you'd think NBC reads the tea leaves and starts realizing that ND going forward is not going to be ND of 20-30 years ago. No one rents Rudy anymore. So maybe ND is jockeying for an extension on the contract while they still have the chance because ND to a 23 year old isn't ND to a 60 year old.

 

[CTMike]

The 60 year olds have the money... whether their nostalgia isn't matched by performance on the field almost doesn't matter. They have numbers and $$. Some day, this will change... but it seems like a long way off.

 

[jpm25]

tradition

 

[SubbaBub]

Before ESPN, ND was the only real national team. Others were bigschools in certain regions and had some national reach but only ND had a truly national fan base which was built on a national radio network, dominant teams, the catholic church and a large unaffiliated fan base in NYC and the northeast many of whom where actually irish. In the 60s and 70s, these affiliations where passed on. Not until every major team had all of its games on TV did the exposure/recruiting cycle break allowing ND to be passed by. Ironically, conference affiliation and climate matter more than the NBC exposure. The thing the ND cherishes the most is what is keeping the program down competitively.

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[SAMCRO]

it's all explained in this video

 

[metsfan2323]

Don't discount hatred for their ratings. People could be tuning in hoping to see them lose. I have done that on many occasions.

 

[buckley503]

Rudy is always on USA or TBS so know one needs to rent it anymore!

 

[alexrgct]

1. Tradition is still strong. It would take some generations for it to totally wear off.
2. They basically are the local team of Chicago, far moreso than Northwestern or Illinois. That a huge market.
3. The Catholic ties give it a national following.
4. They're polarizing- people still have an opinion about them one way or another.

 

[Murph]

Rudy is always on USA or TBS so know one needs to rent it anymore!

TV always edits out the good stuff. In the case of Rudy though, it's not like there was a whole lot of profanity to cut anyway.