“Perfect” is such an inappropriate word.
Virtually nothing is perfect, and we use the word incorrectly about 90-percent of the time.
For example, when someone simply does what they were supposed to do, some of us respond with “perfect, thank you.”
Of course, that’s very encouraging to the person it is said to and the person who speaks it is sincere in their appreciation.
But perfect? Not really.
However, Monday’s game for the College Football Playoff National Championship between Notre Dame and Ohio State feels like a perfect matchup for the final college football game of the season.
Why?
For one thing, you have two of the most recognizable programs and brands in college football. These are two schools who traditionally have been strong and are often in the national title conversation.
America doesn’t need an introduction to the Irish and the Buckeyes.
We all know them well.
Another thing that makes this matchup so intriguing is that they have a history with each other, and we all know about that too.
Last year they played a regular season in South Bend, and Ohio State took the ball down the field in the game’s closing minute to beat the Irish on the game’s final play 17-14.
Losing hurts.
Losing to the Buckeyes multiplied that hurt.
Then what happened next upped the ante.
Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day, having just won a huge game in their non-conference season, stood next to the NBC reporter on the field who asked him about the toughness of his quarterback to finish the game winning drive.
His response went viral while the echo of his words were still bouncing around our ears as we tried to process what we had just seen.
“Toughness,” he started. “Physicality…having guts…I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now. What he said about our team, I cannot believe.”
That was the equivalent of hitting Santa Claus late out of bounds and leading with the helmet, and America collectively threw its flag at him.
Yep, Holtz thought that Notre Dame was the more physical team, and as a college football analyst he is expected to render his opinion on such things.
On that one play, he was wrong.
But for the rest of that game, Coach Holtz was pretty spot on. The Bucks needed a score on the last play from scrimmage and the extra point to get to 17 points that night. It’s not like they beat the Irish by 40.
He crossed the line on the field, and America has not looked at him or his program in a positive light since.
Which then puts the sporting nation in a really unique situation Monday night—if you aren’t an Ohio State fan, you are probably cheering for Notre Dame to win.
That just doesn’t happen. It doesn’t happen for one game, let alone this important of a game.
Part of that is who they are playing, but a bigger part of that is who is coaching Notre Dame.
America has fallen in love with Marcus Freeman!
He’s a coach who is not afraid to smile while he’s working. He’s positive. He’s reassuring to his players…and to the rest of us. Every player on the Notre Dame team knows he has their back, and he will advocate for them with every fiber of his being.
He’s nothing like the man who used to coach the Irish, who gets the proverbial lump of coal for Christmas every year (I know, Santa asks for my recommendations, remember?).
And let’s be honest, Marcus Freeman is a young, attractive man with a beautiful wife and family, is very well spoken and just makes us all feel good.
And we can’t have enough of those people in our lives, can we?
When you add it all up, we have villains and heroes. The heroes are big underdogs, and all the odds are stacked against them.
Yet, here they are. They are the only ones who can rise up against the bad guy and stop his legion from ruling the world.
And that, friends, is all we need to have the perfect ending to the story of this college football season.