![]() Over the course of the season, the target of the fans' angst grew to include not only head coach Tyrone Willingham, but also the caretakers of the university, whom many fans believed were sacrificing football to the prerogatives of an elite academe. The Irish were coming off their third losing season in five years, a span of failure that had sparked fears of permanent decline. When the story begins in September 2004, it had been sixteen years since the Fighting Irish had won a national championship, and eleven years since the team had even been a contender. A tapestry of vivid character portraits and descriptive narrative, "Touchdown Jesus" explores this phenomenon and reveals the story behind one of the highest-profile head coach firings in the history of college football. "Touchdown Jesus" is the intimate chronicle of Notre Dame's 2004 football season as seen through the eyes of a fan base unlike any other. For the fans, Notre Dame has become a symbol of the American immigrant bootstrap ethos of hard work, of the Catholic faith, and of the notion that the two entwined can only produce the good life. Millions in number, these modern-day fans treat the Notre Dame campus as a pilgrimage site, and six times a year, for each home game, the action moves from the profane to the sacred. Over the decades their devotion to team and institution has become a religion in ways that exceed metaphor. ![]() Just as Ohioans root for Ohio State, Los Angelenos for UCLA, Catholics everywhere root for Notre Dame. Millions in number, these modern-day fans Since the time of Knute Rockne, fans have been drawn to Notre Dame for reasons that go far beyond the normal allegiances. ![]() Since the time of Knute Rockne, fans have been drawn to Notre Dame for reasons that go far beyond the normal allegiances.
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