To sports fans’ delight, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith eviscerated Notre Dame’s football program during this Wednesday’s episode of “First Take.”
Smith questioned why the Fighting Irish are so relevant when they haven’t won a national championship in over three decades.
“They have not won a national title since 1988,” Smith said. “That is 36 years. 36 years ago, doggie [Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo], I was graduating from high school. I had an afro, [my] hairline was two feet forward.”
There are plenty of times when Smith gets criticized for being too harsh. This wasn’t one of those times.
For the most part, Smith is receiving praise on social media for his comments about Notre Dame.
“Stephen A is right,” Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports tweeted. “ND is a relic of the past. They were good in the 1800’s with the Four Horse Horseman and Knute Rockne. But I don’t care about ancient history. You need to have won a natty before the days of the horse and buggy to be considered a premiere program.”
“He’s actually not wrong anytime they play a big game they get blown out,” one fan said.
Another fan wrote, “Stephen A is 100% correct, Notre Dame is overrated.”
“Cant believe I agree with this dude,” a third fan commented. “ND hasn’t been relevant in decades.”
This entire conversation on “First Take” was over the College Football Playoff’s new model for a 12-team format.
Credit to Smith for finding a way to make this segment go viral, even if it was at the expense of Notre Dame fans.