Gibbons Adams 1

Elizabeth Gibbons and Emily Adams

Dr. Erin Dietel-McLaughlin

FYC 13300: Section 02 and 03

15 April 2011

Brian Kelly: Returning Notre Dame to her Glory

As freshmen at Notre Dame, we have been told that our student body does not care about

football as former alumni did. We have been told that our academic standards are much too hard

for a powerhouse football team to handle. We have been told that the glory days of Knute

Rockne, Frank Leahy, and Lou Holtz are gone. A few years ago, we might have believed what

we had been told. Former coaches Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis were forced out for not

maintaining the promises of returning Notre Dame to her glory. It seemed there was little hope

for the future. The Notre Dame community began to hope again when Brian Kelly was hired.

With the 6th most active winning percentage in NCAA football, Kelly has taken small schools

like Grand Valley State and Cincinnati and won. With better opportunities, players, and

facilities, the possibilities are endless for Kelly at Notre Dame. It is just a matter of time before

“The House That Rockne Built” impresses all, including Rockne.

We changed this video dramatically from what we first had. Originally the beginning

included videos of actual football footage that were morphed together with different upbeat

songs. After meeting with Dr. E, we realized that this did not give off the same emotional feel

that the middle section did. After picking the video apart, we understood that less was more. By

adding more statistics and simple music and images, the emotions of our audience became much

more powerful. After these revisions and discussion, it was only uphill- maybe a metaphor

similar to the Irish Football Team.

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Our video emphasizes simple images, intense music, and statistics as it appeals to the

ethos, pathos, and logos of our audience. It begins with a plain black slide with white words that

say, “The glory of Notre Dame Football.” From here, the slow music is starting to build up as the

statistics of storied coaches are shown along with their images. We used all black and white

photos, even editing a few; as to make our audience remember the meaning of the past. The unity

of the black and white images gives a consistent feeling that the eye of the audience member

appreciates without realizing they are giving us credibility. The song “Classic Battle” by Autumn

Thunder is the background music coming from an old NFL album, The Themes of Fall. The title

and the album itself are significant because the theme of Notre Dame in the fall is football. The

strong beat and brass sound uplift our audience reminding them once again of the strength of our

past, appealing to their ethos.

Our second section has a much more somber feel as Al Pacino’s speech “Peace by

Inches” from the movie Any Given Sunday is playing over defeated images. Pictures including

tears, heartbreak, and sunken spirits represent the dark times of our past losses that strongly

appeal to the pathos of our audience. Al is giving a motivational speech that is about his own

football team in the movie, but our pictures make our audience feel as though he is talking about

our team, Notre Dame. We do not have any statistics in this section, because the emotions from

Al’s speech express the devastation Notre Dame has felt. Some in class suggested using

motivational pictures, but we decided to keep the deflated pictures that express the depression of

the Notre Dame community. Al is motivating us after the devastation, just like our third section

does with the promise of Brian Kelly.

The third section is meant to uplift and inspire our audience as Brian Kelly’s impressive

resume is flashed before us. The use of “An Epic Age” by Immediate makes the blood rush
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through the veins of our audience as Kelly’s honors and accolades are revealed. The heavy

beating of the drums accompanied by the threatening voices of the choir instill respect in our

audience for Kelly. Images of Kelly screaming and emphasizing his knowledge allow the logos

of our audience to believe that he has the ability to bring back the glory that was covered in our

first section. The statistics we chose emphasize the success Kelly has had and will have. The

ending credits are next and followed by the only use of colored text in the video saying, “GO

IRISH” in gold. At the end of the day, we are always happier with an Irish victory.

Our video emphasizes unity and simplicity while expressing our view that Brian Kelly is

bringing glory back to Notre Dame football. Strong music, consistent backgrounds, and powerful

images reveal that Notre Dame is coming back. It’s just a matter of time before we win a

National Championship.
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Works Cited

Autumn Thunder. “Classic Battle.” The Themes from Fall, 2010. CD.

Immediate. “An Epic Age.” Trailerhead. Imperative, 2008. CD.

O'Neill, John. "Spotlight: Notre Dame Football." CatholicHistory. 15 June 2008. Web. 13 Apr.

2011.

Photograph. “Knute Rockne.” Art.com. 15 Aug. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “95 Excitement.” Bettor. 15 Dec. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “We Love Lou.” Bleacher Report. 04 Jan. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Navy Tackle.” Bleacher Report. 12 Nov. 2008. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Quinn and Michigan State.” Bleacher Report. 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Kelly and 89.” Bodog Beat. 05 June 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Squinting Kelly.” CBS Chicago. 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Kelly and Team 2.” CBS Chicago. 11 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Morose Kelly.” Chicago Now. 05 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Deflated Team.” Connectin. 15 July 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Upset 14.” Deadspin. 15 Nov. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Four Horsemen.” DM12700. Wordpress, 15 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Weis and Quinn.” ESPN. 18 Sept. 2006. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Parseghian.” ESPN College Football. 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Hawaii Action Shot.” EveryJoe. 27 Dec. 2008. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Pensive Kelly.” Examiner. 03 Dec. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Old School Tackle.” Fack Youk. Blogspot, 03 Sept. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Old School Tackle 2.” LeprechaunLegion. 22 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.
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Photograph. “Vintage Jerseys.” MLive. 01 Nov. 2007. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Excited Kelly.” MLive. 04 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Proud Kelly.” MLive. 11 Dec. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Michigan Tackle.” MLive. 13 Sept. 2008. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Brian Yelling.” MLive. 27 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Upset Team.” MLive. 30 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Sad 22.” Monster Photo. Photoshelter, 23 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Feisty Brian.” National Football Post. 23 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Blue-Gold Action.” NBC. MSNBC, 16 Apr. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Team Practice.” NJ. 03 Apr. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Red Cheek Kelly.” NJ. 10 Dec. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Pep Talk.” Rivals. Yahoo, 01 Apr. 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Sleepless in Michigan. Wordpress, 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Defeated.” Sports Illustrated. CNN, 07 Nov. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Clausen.” Sports Illustrated. CNN, 31 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Defeat Scoreboard.” Style Forum. 08 July 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Crist Falling.” Tackonthat. 20 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Knute and Friends in Hats.” The Selvdege Yard. Wordpress, 20 Nov. 2009. Web.

13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Brian and Team 1.” The Sports Bank. 18 Aug. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Intense Brian 1.” UHND. 08 Sept. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Notre Lame.” USAToday. 24 Sept. 2006. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.

Photograph. “Happy Brian 1.” Zimbio. 27 Nov. 2010. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.
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University of Notre Dame. "Player Bio: Brian Kelly - University of Notre Dame Official

Athletics Site." University of Notre Dame Official Athletic Site. 15 Dec. 09. Web. 14 Apr.

2011.

We Are ND-Defend Our Honor. 2009. Youtube. Web. 09 Apr. 2011.