ATLANTA (AP) — Between Touchdown Jesus, “Win One for the Gipper," Rudy, and, yes, even the forward pass, there are those who believe football wouldn’t quite be football without Notre Dame.
With the Fighting Irish waking up the echoes and playing for a title again after a generation-long retreat from the limelight, now might be the perfect time to admit it — maybe they were right.
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FILE - Notre Dame's Joe Montana tries to brush off Reggie Wilkes of Georgia Tech during his six-yard gain in first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Nov. 7, 1977 game at South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2011, file photo, the hallway between the locker room and the field at Notre Dame stadium shows the sign "Play like a Champion Today" in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond, File)
FILE - In this 1924, file photo, Notre Dame's infamous backfield, "The Four Horsemen," from left, Don Miller, Elmer Layden, Jim Crowley and Harry Stuhldreherare pose on the practice field in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Notre Dame's head coach Lou Holtz and the Fighting Irish walk onto the field of the Los Angeles Coliseum to warm up for an NCAA college football game against Southern California Saturday, Nov. 30, 1996 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)
FILE - Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, left, and team captain Clem Crowe watch the team practice in 1925. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - The Virgin Mary atop the "Golden Dome" on the Administration Building is seen through nearly bare trees before an NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina, File)
FILE - A Notre Dame flag waves in the wind in front of the The Word of Life Mural, aka "Touchdown Jesus," on the Hesburgh Library before an NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois, Saturday Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina, File)
Ever since 1913, when an end named Knute Rockne helped a small Catholic school based in South Bend, Indiana, pull off a stunner by beating Army, Notre Dame has stood as one of the main shapers of college football.
“They were really the first ‘America’s Team,’” says Jack Nolan, the longtime radio personality for the Fighting Irish. “They were the first team that played on both coasts. I’ve told folks, and even told a couple of recruits, that Notre Dame is Broadway.”
Rockne didn’t invent the forward pass in that win against Army, but by catching throws in stride — up to then, receivers ran to a spot, stood there and waited — he introduced the pass as a dynamic, game-changing play that now needs no explanation.
Rockne went on to coach at Notre Dame, which featured a backfield famously nicknamed the Four Horsemen. Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley and Elmer Layden were immortalized by Grantland Rice in what is widely recognized as the best lead sentence in the history of sports writing: “Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again.”
And it was Rockne who, after the tragic death of running back George Gipp, (maybe) uttered the words “Win one for the Gipper” to motivate his team. That line became more famous when an actor-turned-politician named Ronald Reagan recited it the 1940 movie, “Knute Rockne, All American,” then used it as a campaign slogan that helped propel him to the presidency in 1980.
When Rockne himself died tragically in a plane crash in 1931, it cemented a legend that already had taken on mythical proportions.
Politics. Sports. Religion. The history of Notre Dame football covers all that. Especially religion.
Legend has it that the Big Ten’s rejection of Notre Dame in 1926 — resulting in an outsider status the Irish later embraced — was steeped in anti-Catholic sentiment held by Michigan’s athletic director, Fielding Yost.
Time marched on.
By 1964, with football firmly established as another sort of religion on campus, the school president, the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, wanted to make a grand statement about Notre Dame’s singular standing in American education. He instructed architects to think big with the construction of a new campus library.
That’s how the “Word of Life” mural came into being. It’s a 134-foot-tall painting of Jesus with his arms upraised to bless a group of teachers and doctors below him.
That you could see the painting of Jesus from anywhere in the south end of the nearby football stadium is how the mural became known as “Touchdown Jesus” — as iconic a college football landmark as there is.
“Sometimes in practice, I’ll kind of look up and see that,” receiver Jordan Faison said. “And it reminds me of how far I’ve come, and how far some of my teammates have come on this journey, and that the place where we’re doing this is Notre Dame.”
Ever since the Big Ten turned down Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish have mostly gone it alone. Their status as an independent has always been unusual and, now, makes them virtually one of a kind in a sport dominated by megaconferences with 16 and 18 teams.
Exhibit A is media. Of all Notre Dame's media deals over the decades, the most famous is the one it cut with NBC that started in 1991 and still exists today. It places financial heft behind a program that doesn't benefit from multimillion-dollar media rights payouts from any conference.
The independent status also allows Notre Dame flexibility with its own schedule, giving it the ability to play games coast to coast — unheard of in the 1920s and ‘30s, and not as common until the last decade or so ushered in the era of conferences that stretch across three time zones.
In a nod to the realities of the times, Notre Dame does, however, play basketball and other sports in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and has a deal to play four football games a year against opponents from the ACC.
Notre Dame's independence also gave it a decades-long head start on the now-common art of recruiting across the country instead of just regionally.
“I think there’s long been a feeling of not wanting to just be a Midwest institution,” said John Heisler, a longtime sports information director at the school who has written 10 books on the Fighting Irish.
Any list of the 10 most important figures in Notre Dame football history would have to include Lou Holtz.
The irrepressible coach is now 88 and still needling the opposition. His digs at the Buckeyes before last year’s game — questioning their physicality and throwing shade on coach Ryan Day — are taking on new meaning now that the teams are meeting for the title.
Just last week, Holtz was back on social media predicting a Notre Dame win on Monday night.
“Remember, we’re Notre Dame and they ain’t,” said Holtz, who plans on being in Atlanta for the title game.
Holtz, who spent a career putting chips on his players' shoulders and making every opponent sound like a world beater, and whose bromides — “When all is said and done, more is said than done” — were so darn true they bordered on corny, is the living embodiment of the reason there isn’t much neutral ground about Notre Dame.
You either love ‘em or you hate ‘em.
Maybe worse than loving or hating the Fighting Irish would be if people just didn’t care.
That is the precarious place Notre Dame had been flirting with since Holtz led the Irish to their last national title in 1988, then left after the 1996 season.
Some say the days of “Catholics vs. Convicts,” the 1988 pseudo culture war between Miami and Notre Dame that is the subject of its own book and documentary, simply couldn’t happen anymore in this more professional-looking era.
And maybe neither could the ripped-from-the-headlines underdog tale that led to the 1993 movie “Rudy,” about the undersized Notre Dame walk-on who finally gets his chance to play, then gets carried off the field on his teammates' shoulders.
Regardless, since Holtz left and college football turned into a battle of once-regional programs taking their acts national, Notre Dame has bordered on becoming “just another program.”
With coach Marcus Freeman in charge, this year marked the first time since 1994 the Fighting Irish got a “W” in a major bowl game. This season’s run, which included a victory over Indiana in college football’s first-ever postseason game on campus, is sparking a frenzy of nostalgia and reigniting all those ancient feelings about the Irish.
“The further Notre Dame pushes into the playoffs, the more crowded our parking lot gets,” said Wren Martin, marketing manager for Notre Dame’s on-campus bookstore.
This season is reminding us once again that, even as winning comes and goes, Notre Dame finds new spins on a story old as time.
The year was 1964, and the Fighting Irish, after struggling for about a decade in the wake of coach Frank Leahy’s departure, were coming back to life under the direction of an eager outsider — a Protestant of Armenian descent named Ara Parseghian — who had toppled Notre Dame four straight years while he was coaching Northwestern.
Some believe the “Era of Ara” truly kicked off the day the Irish beat Stanford 28-6 to improve to 5-0.
The great sports scribe Dan Jenkins was in town that week writing for Sports Illustrated. He kicked off his tale by noting that the school had recently regilded its iconic golden dome to keep it glowing.
Then, Jenkins wrote: “The dome on the main building seemed to be giving off beams of inspiration as it did in the days of Frank Leahy and Knute Rockne. Notre Dame is winning again.”
It was true back then. It's true again today.
AP freelance writer Curt Rallo in South Bend, Indiana, contributed to this report.
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FILE - Notre Dame's Joe Montana tries to brush off Reggie Wilkes of Georgia Tech during his six-yard gain in first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Nov. 7, 1977 game at South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2011, file photo, the hallway between the locker room and the field at Notre Dame stadium shows the sign "Play like a Champion Today" in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond, File)
FILE - In this 1924, file photo, Notre Dame's infamous backfield, "The Four Horsemen," from left, Don Miller, Elmer Layden, Jim Crowley and Harry Stuhldreherare pose on the practice field in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Notre Dame's head coach Lou Holtz and the Fighting Irish walk onto the field of the Los Angeles Coliseum to warm up for an NCAA college football game against Southern California Saturday, Nov. 30, 1996 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)
FILE - Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, left, and team captain Clem Crowe watch the team practice in 1925. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - The Virgin Mary atop the "Golden Dome" on the Administration Building is seen through nearly bare trees before an NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina, File)
FILE - A Notre Dame flag waves in the wind in front of the The Word of Life Mural, aka "Touchdown Jesus," on the Hesburgh Library before an NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois, Saturday Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina, File)
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing more than 400 Palestinians, local health officials said, and shattering a ceasefire in place since January with its deadliest bombardment in a 17-month war with Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes, which killed mostly women and children, after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the operation was open-ended and expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions.
The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza and head toward the center of the territory, indicating that Israel could soon launch renewed ground operations. The new campaign comes as aid groups warn supplies are running out two weeks after Israel cut off all food, medicine, fuel and other goods to Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The attack during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan could signal the full resumption of a war that has already killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza. It also raised concerns about the fate of the roughly two dozen hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.
The renewal of the campaign against Hamas, which receives support from Iran, came as the U.S. and Israel stepped up attacks this week across the region. The U.S. launched deadly strikes against Iran-allied rebels in Yemen, while Israel has targeted Iran-backed militants in Lebanon and Syria.
A senior Hamas official said Netanyahu’s decision to return to war amounts to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages. Izzat al-Risheq accused Netanyahu of launching the strikes to save his far-right governing coalition.
Hamas said at least six senior officials were killed in Tuesday’s strikes. Israel said they included the head of Hamas' civilian government, its justice minister and two security agency chiefs. There were no reports of any attacks by Hamas several hours after the bombardment.
But Yemen's Houthi rebels fired rockets toward Israel for the first time since the ceasefire began. The volley set off sirens in Israel's southern Negev desert but was intercepted before it reached the country's territory, the military said.
The strikes came as Netanyahu faces mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests planned over his handling of the hostage crisis and his decision to fire the head of Israel’s internal security agency. His latest testimony in a long-running corruption trial was canceled after the strikes.
The strikes appeared to give Netanyahu a political boost. A far-right party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir that had bolted the government over the ceasefire announced Tuesday it was rejoining.
The main group representing families of the hostages accused the government of backing out of the ceasefire. “We are shocked, angry and terrified by the deliberate dismantling of the process to return our loved ones from the terrible captivity of Hamas,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
Strikes across Gaza pounded homes, sparked fires in a tent camp outside the southern city of Khan Younis and hit at least one school-turned-shelter.
After two months of relative calm during the ceasefire, stunned Palestinians found themselves once again digging loved ones out of rubble and holding funeral prayers over the dead at hospital morgues.
“Nobody wants to fight,” Nidal Alzaanin, a resident of Gaza City, said. “Everyone is still suffering from the previous months.”
A hit on a home in Rafah killed 17 members of one family, according to the European Hospital, which received the bodies. The dead included five children, their parents, and another father and his three children. Another in Gaza City killed 27 members of a family, half of them women and children, including a 1-year-old, according to a list of the dead put out by Palestinian medics.
At Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, patients lay on the floor, some screaming. A young girl cried as her bloody arm was bandaged. Wounded children overwhelmed the pediatric ward, said Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan, a volunteer with Medical Aid for Palestinians aid group.
She said she helped treat a 6-year-old girl with internal bleeding. When they pulled away her curly hair, they realized shrapnel had also penetrated the left side of her brain, leaving her paralyzed on the right side. She was brought in with no ID, and “we don't know if her family survived,” Haj-Hassan said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least 404 people and wounded more than 560. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry’s records department, said at least 263 of those killed were women or children under 18. He described it as the deadliest day in Gaza since the start of the war.
The war has killed over 48,500 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced 90% of Gaza’s population. The Health Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and militants but says over half of the dead have been women and children.
The war erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Most have been released in ceasefires or other deals, with Israeli forces rescuing only eight and recovering dozens of bodies.
The White House blamed Hamas for the renewed fighting. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the militant group “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”
The ceasefire deal that the U.S. helped broker, however, did not require Hamas to release more hostages to extend the halt in fighting beyond its first phase.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the unfolding operation, said Israel was striking Hamas’ military, leaders and infrastructure and planned to expand the operation beyond air attacks.
The official accused Hamas of attempting to rebuild and plan new attacks. Hamas militants and security forces quickly returned to the streets in recent weeks after the ceasefire went into effect. Hamas on Tuesday denied planning new attacks.
Under the ceasefire that began in mid-January, Hamas released 25 hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for more than 1,700 Palestinian prisoners as agreed in the first phase.
But Israel balked at entering negotiations over a second phase. Under the agreement, phase two was meant to bring the freeing of the remaining 24 living hostages, an end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel says Hamas also holds the remains of 35 captives.
Instead, Israel demanded Hamas release half of the remaining hostages in return for a ceasefire extension and a vague promise to eventually negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas refused, demanding the two sides follow the original deal, which called for the halt in fighting to continue during negotiations over the second phase.
The deal had largely held, though Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military says approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate the next steps.
Israel says it will not end the war until it destroys Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and frees all hostages — two goals that could be incompatible.
A full resumption of the war would allow Netanyahu to avoid the tough trade-offs called for in the second phase and the thorny question of who would govern Gaza.
It would also shore up his coalition, which depends on far-right lawmakers who want to depopulate Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there.
Released hostages have repeatedly implored the government to press ahead with the ceasefire to return all remaining captives. Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined protests calling for a ceasefire and return of all hostages.
Federman reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporters Mohammad Jahjouh in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip; Abdel Kareem Hana in Gaza City, Gaza Strip; Fatma Khaled in Cairo; and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Protesters demand the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Protesters demand the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An explosion erupts in the northern Gaza Strip, as seee from southern Israel, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A man mourns over the body of a child, lying among other victims at the hospital morgue, following Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT.- A woman mourns over the body of a person killed in overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A woman mourns as she identifies a body in the Al-Ahli hospital following overnight Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A woman reacts as she stands over the bodies of people killed during overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A woman carries the body of a child to Al-Ahli hospital following overnight Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A woman reacts over the body of a person killed during overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A woman reacts next to bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli army airstrikes are brought to the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli army airstrikes as they are brought to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli army airstrikes as they are brought to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al-Tabi'in School in central Gaza Strip following an Israeli airstrike, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al-Tabi'in School in central Gaza Strip following an Israeli airstrike, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A man carries a covered body following overnight Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT.- A man carries the body of a child to the Al-Ahli hospital following multiple overnight Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Bodies of people killed during overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip are left in the yard of the the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al-Tabi'in School in central Gaza Strip following an Israeli airstrike, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al-Tabi'in School in central Gaza Strip following an Israeli airstrike, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
People gather around the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli army airstrikes as they are brought to the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A Palestinian man holds the body of his 11 month-old nephew Mohammad Shaban, killed in an Israeli army airstrikes at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli army airstrikes are brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Injured Palestinians wait for treatment at the hospital following Israeli army airstrikes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
The bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli army airstrikes are brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli army airstrikes is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli army airstrikes are brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn their relative who was killed in an Israeli army airstrikes, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli army airstrikes are brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli army airstrikes are brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli army airstrikes are brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT.- Palestinians hold the hands of their relative who was killed in an Israeli army airstrike, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Karem Hanna)
A body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli army airstrikes is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
An injured man waits for treatment on the floor of a hospital following Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
Injured Palestinians wait for treatment at the hospital following Israeli army airstrikes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
A man mourns over the body of a child, lying among other victims at the hospital morgue, following Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
A man mourns as he places the body of a child in the hospital morgue following Israeli army airstrikes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
An ambulance carrying victims of an Israeli army strike arrives at the hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday March 18, 2025.(AP Photo/ Mohammad Jahjouh)
A dead person killed during an Israeli army strike is taken into the hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday March 18, 2025.(AP Photo/ Mohammad Jahjouh)
A dead person killed during an Israeli army strike is taken into the hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday March 18, 2025.(AP Photo/ Mohammad Jahjouh)
