Whether it’s giving 110 percent or taking it one game at a time, you’ve always got to remember it is what it is.
In other words, the formula for winning the game before the game is simple: bring on the clichés!
Notre Dame and Alabama are already winners in that regard, spending the days leading up to the BCS championship talking about a lot of things, all while trying not to say much of anything.
“If you can stick to a script that’s already written, it makes things a lot easier,” Notre Dame offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr. quipped on Saturday at Media Day. “I have an arsenal of clichés always ready. It’s really helped me out so far.”
With both teams — every player and coach — turning out for media day at Sun Life Stadium, the familiar phrases were flowing freely.
Lingering around the podium of Kapron Lewis-Moore, the Fighting Irish’s personable defensive lineman, it didn’t take long to get a rat-tat-tat-tat of banal buzzwords.
• “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”
• “We know it’s going to be a four-quarter battle.”
• “You can’t take anything for granted.”
For players trying to sound coherent about their subject matter, while avoiding the pitfalls of blurting out something contentious, clichés are like a warm, comforting dish whipped up by your mother. They make everything OK.
Plus, they aren’t going to be the least bit offensive to the other team because, chances are, they are saying most of the same things.
“You don’t want to be that guy who gives out bulletin-board material,” Lewis-Moore said.
WHAT A CUT UP
There are thousands of Notre Dame fans traveling to South Florida for the Discover BCS National Championship Game, but the dedication of one Minnesota man stands out above all others.
In November, Dan Scaminace, Notre Dame class of 2005, sent an email to the CEO of Discover, the corporate sponsor of the big game. Scaminace offered to cut up all his other credit cards, donate all his earned cash back dollars to charitable organizations and get a Discover tattoo if the company could get him tickets to the game.
“The CEO personally emailed me back within 12 hours,” Scaminace said, although he didn’t offer him tickets right then. It was about a week later that a company spokesperson called him back with two tickets to the game, plane tickets, a hotel room and VIP passes to pregame events. He didn’t even have to get a real tattoo.
“When they called, I was like putty in their hands,” said Scaminace, who works in sales for a manufacturing company. “I’m not sure my employers would have liked the tattoo, but I would have done anything.”
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