USC vs. Notre Dame: What the fans have to say about the rivalry

It’s Auburn-Alabama, but 40 stories up in class and respect. Can it be called a rivalry when one school wins all the time? The Song Girls are undefeated, the old oaken bucket, Paul Bunyan’s ax. Really? Give me the Jeweled Shillelagh anytime. Glad you get a lot better education at ND and it costs a lot less to buy your way in, that’s real value. South Bend vs. Hollywood, only one has a candidate for president. Great bands, great fight songs. Fortunately, ND’s has more than five notes. Traveler can’t do a Victory Clog.

I’m a USC alum and my ex-boyfriend who recently dumped me went to Notre Dame. Our relationship started when we playfully talked trash to each other on a dating app before the game four years ago. I’d really love to see USC kick Notre Dame’s butt this year.

As an ND graduate from Southern California, I know the two schools don’t compare. It’s almost as though USC fans need to win this game just to put themselves in conversation with a high-caliber school like ND. There’s nothing like going home to California after a win, wearing ND gear, and knowing that USC really can’t compete where they don’t even compare.

USC has two rivalries, UCLA and ND. One is a rivalry by default because we’re in the same city but they’re like the annoying little brother you can pretty easily rough up. ND is a truer rivalry because they’re better and the team we have respect for.

Traditions for old and young; past, present and future generations!!!!!! Go Irish!!!

It is the earliest rivalry I ever remember watching as a child in West Virginia, even before I had a favorite college team of my own, and rooting on the Trojans, which is how USC became my favorite ‘helmet team.’

I was actually really surprised when I heard about the rivalry after coming to Notre Dame. I’m from Southern California and come from a big USC family (my mom, cousins, and uncle all went to USC — my great-uncle was a kicker for USC and one of my cousins is a professor there now), so I was confused when Notre Dame students kept talking about a USC rivalry. Growing up, I was taught to hate UCLA, not Notre Dame. Even my mom said she didn’t understand why Notre Dame kept bringing up USC. ‘We don’t hate them. We don’t care about Notre Dame. We just hate the Bruins.’ My uncle Sam Tsagalakis, the aforementioned kicker, always organized a joint lunch between Notre Dame and USC when the teams played each other. There was never any bad blood. When my uncle had a really bad stroke a few years back, Notre Dame reached out to my family and told us that they were praying for him. That kindness was actually a huge reason why I grew to love Notre Dame and its mission so much. In short, the rivalry means essentially nothing to me. I feel like it’s pretty one-sided.