Poor, poor Notre Dame is defeated by Navy for the First Time Since 1963

As if their season wasn’t bad enough, Notre Dame lost yesterday to Navy. Yes, you heard me correctly. Navy. Now, Navy hasn’t been playing THAT badly this year (and I say that relatively, as they still aren’t bowl eligible), and really, you don’t have to be an amazing team to beat the young Fighting Irish. However, the real story here is that Navy hasn’t beaten Notre Dame is a long, long time. We’re talking decades here. Over 4 decades, to be specific. 43 years. The last time the Midshipmen beat Notre Dame was in 1963. What else happed in 1963?

The Beatles released the album Please Please Me.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested along with other activists for protesting without a permit in Birmingham. Later that year, he gives the “I have a Dream” speech.

Dr. No was a box office hit.

Michael Jordan, Larry the Cable Guy, Seal, Conan O’Brien, Mike Myers, Johnny Depp, Lisa Kudrow, Whitney Houston, Tori Amos, Mark McGwire, Tommy Lee, and Brad Pitt were born.

Patsy Cline, Robert Frost, Pope John XXIII, C.S. Lewis, and, of course, John. F. Kennedy all died.

The game wasn’t just crazy because of the long history of losses to Notre Dame. It went into THREE overtimes, and Notre Dame only lost due to the third-overtime rule that you HAVE to go for the two points after a touch down. Notre Dame, playing defense, had to answer Navy’s touchdown and 2-pt conversion. They just couldn’t do it. They made the touchdown, but not the two points, and there was even a really bad call at the end of the game that gave Notre Dame a second chance. At the end of the day, however, is anyone really surprised? Notre Dame has no player leadership and talent muted by inexperience. Hopefully they can get back on track for next year, because this year has been shot to pieces.