Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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16 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW UNDER THE DOME Under Knute Rockne in the 1920s, the University of Notre Dame football team unofficially became "America's Team" because of its willingness to travel coast to coast to take on all challenges while build- ing a legion of followers. Around the 1970s, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys adopted the moniker as America's Team. Upon closer inspection, the symmetry between the two operations for the past 50-plus years has been uncanny. Glory Days In the 30 years from 1964-93, Notre Dame won four consensus na- tional titles, 10 major bowls (most of any team in that time), and barely missed out on four other titles (1964, 1970, 1989 and 1993). During a similar 30-year stretch from 1966-95, the Cowboys cap- tured five Super Bowls, won 10 conference titles (most of any team in that time), and barely missed four other championships. They lost three Super Bowls by four or less points, plus on Green Bay's fourth-down quarterback sneak in the closing seconds of the 1967 NFL title game. No In Between Because they have been dubbed as "America's Team" for decades, this has inspired enmity and envy, prompting belief, "You either love Notre Dame/the Cowboys, or hate them. There is no in between." Cashing In At the end of 2015, Forbes rated Dallas as the most valuable NFL franchise ($4.2 billion). On the collegiate level, Notre Dame was rated No. 2 ($112 million), behind only Texas, whose enrollment is much larger. 1997 To Present In the 20 years from 1997-2016, both have been mired mainly in mediocrity, living more off their glorious past. During that 20-year stretch, the Cowboys are 165-155 in the much more competitive and Former Irish lineman Zack Martin and the Cowboys followed up a 4‑12 season in 2015 with a 13‑3 record in 2016, the type of turnaround Notre Dame hopes to accomplish this fall. PHOTO BY JAMES D. SMITH/COURTESY DALLAS COWBOYS In the 2013 Shamrock Series, Notre Dame played Arizona State at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The NFL franchise has had numerous similarities with the Fighting Irish since the mid‑1960s. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA AMERICA'S TEAMS: SYMMETRY IN MOTION