Walz 1

Kevin Walz
Professor Jerome M. McKeever
English 1020
29 July 2014
Count 1482
Catholics Vs Convicts: Oh What a Week
A week in October 1988 was one of the most unique in college football. Two teams as
different as night and day would come together for a football game in South Bend Indiana. The
old and the new. The boisterous or the reverent. This is the story of a coach, a team, a shirt,
and a fan who all ended up in one stadium on a fall day for a game that would go down in
history as the game of the century!
At the end of Notre Dame Football season the Scholastic, the university student
magazine featured a full-page ad that read, Avoid the Rush, Hate Miami Early. Only 198 Days
Left! It was payback time. This marked the beginning of the hate that would bubble and
simmer for 198 days. One student even called Jimmy Johnsons office and told him he was
beating the rush and hating them early. Johnson would talk about it at an alumni dinner. The
student became famous. This sparked two roommates with an entrepreneurial flair to design a
t-shirt that on the front said unfinished business and on the back it said Catholics vs convicts.
This comes from Notre Dame being a Catholic University and many of the Miami players having
run ins with the law. The game will forever be known by this moniker.
Walz 2

For a thirteen year old boy named Kevin Walz the game was so far away. He came from
a Notre Dame obsessed family. His father was a double domer. His mother and sister Saint
Marys grads. His brother and brother in-law are also ND grads. Hate was not well known to
Kevin but he hated Miami. As a young man his intense love for Notre Dame was bolstered by
his family. He attended his first football game at the age of three. He grew up watching the
teams coached by Gerry Faust. The teams did not fare well so when a Coach named Lou Holtz
stepped onto campus lots of things changed. As the 1988 season approached Notre Dames
stock was on the rise. Miami had spent the last several years making teams look bad and
rubbing it in as they did. The last time Notre Dame had played Miami the score was 58-7
Miami. The sting still hurt from that game. Everyone remembered it.
Emotions were boiling over as both teams kept winning as the game got closer and
closer. It seemed inevitable that the two teams would meet with the 1988 national
championship on the line. This would propel fans on both sides into a frenzy. As the week of
the game started all of the college football world had its eyes on South Bend.
Notre Dames administrators were in a new position. The usually polite but passionate
Notre Dame crowd was feeling the need for revenge. The Catholics Vs Convicts shirts were
flying off the shelf. The media was stirring the pot. Coach Holtz tried to stay above the fray.
When asked about the shirt he said "Our secretaries don't wear them," he said. "My coaches
don't wear them. The players don't wear them. And my wife doesn't wear one. And those are
the only people I'm around this time of year." (Wins, Losses, and Lessons) He did his best but
things were escalating quickly. The mood on campus was becoming salty. What was meant to
Walz 3

be a humor article in the Notre Dame student newspaper, the Observer, took things a little too
far. It was written from Jimmy Johnsons point of view. "You intellectual snobs like to poke at ...
our academic program," the author wrote. "Now, we may not have any Rhodes Scholars, but I'll
have you know that we have the nation's leading programs in intramural bowling, gator
wrestling, drug running, and sports car appreciation." This had pushed things a bit too far and
the administration was forced to respond. They asked coach Holtz to say something. "When I
first came to Notre Dame," wrote Holtz, "I was impressed with four things about this student
body -- its competitiveness, its intelligence, its intense desire to succeed and its closeness and
caring for other people. I would hope our students display those same traits when it comes to
football rivalries. "We look forward to welcoming Miami's team and fans for our next home
game. Let's make sure that the Hurricanes leave our campus impressed with the classiness of
our program and fans." (Wins, Losses, and Lessons)
As Kevin and his father took the back way into campus along the Saint Joe River they
saw signs in a usually reserved part of South Bend. His stomach was turning over and the game
was six hours away. They parked within sight of the stadium. South Bend was jumping. The
tail gating was in full swing. The parking lots were full by nine in the morning. The smell of
cigar smoke was thick in the air. The beer was flowing this was a bad sign for South Bend
police.
The players could feel the tension in the air. The pre-game mass and the walk to the
stadium was electric. The Notre Dame team was on the field finishing their warm up when a
freshman on the Miami team trying to make a name for himself walked through the Notre
Walz 4

Dame line and bumped a player. The Notre Dame players were in no mood to back down and a
fight broke out in the Notre Dame tunnel. The police had to break it up. In the locker room
after the fight the Notre Dame players were in a frenzy. To the contrary the mood in the
Miami locker room was one of annoyance. This would prove fatal for the Hurricanes.
Kevin and his father made their way to the Grotto for a prayer and to the stadium for the
game. They sat in the South end zone two thirds of the way up the seats. The crowd was going
crazy. Young Kevin could hardly take the tension. He started by making his first of many trips
to the restroom.
Coach Holtz was in the locker room trying to focus his players. This quote would go
down in history. "You have an afternoon to play, a lifetime to remember," Holtz said. "But I
want you to do one thing: You save Jimmy Johnson's ass for me!" (Wins, Losses, and Lessons)
The game started and the stadium was as loud as it had ever been. Notre Dame and
Miami traded body blows. Kevin could hardly stand the pressure. He kept leaving his father for
the bathroom or a drink. Every time he would go Notre Dame would score. The crowd started
to urge him to go more and more often. It was all in good fun. Kevin and his father had a
wonderful day but it was all coming down to one last unforgettable play.
Notre Dame had led off and on the entire day but a late game turnover had given Miami
one last chance. Miami drove to inside the ten yard line but had stalled. It was forth down and
they were down by seven. Kevin felt like he needed to go to the restroom again but resisted
the urge. Coach Holtz was pacing the sideline barking out orders. Miamis quarterback
dropped back for a pass and lofted it to the corner of the end zone Kevin was sitting in. The air
Walz 5

just went out of the stadium as the ball was caught. This left Miami to decide to kick to tie the
game or go for two to win it. Meanwhile Kevin was left ready to cry. Coach Holtz knew they
would go for two. He was preparing his team for a two point play. As the teams lined up
Kevins body was in revolt. His bowels twisted his stomach sank. The Miami play looked to him
just like the play they ran to score on just a minute before. The ball floated in the air when Pat
Terrell jumped in the air and knocked it to the ground.
The sound was defining they jumped, they hugged, they screamed, and slapped high
fives. Coach Holtz on the other had was all work as there was an on sides kick on his way. Long
story short Notre Dame won the game. The jubilation was over the top. Kevin and his father
made their way home. They would later that year see Notre Dame win the National Title. But
the day that really won them the title was that beautiful fall day when the convicts came to
town. The Irish had slain the Goliath of college football. Oh what a week it was!







Walz 6

Work Cited
1. Holtz, Lou. Wins, Losses, and Lessons: An Autobiography. New York: Wm. Morrow,
2006. Print.




















Walz 7


Smarthinking's E-structor Response Form

(Your marked-up essay is below this form.)
HOW THIS WORKS: Your e-structor has written overview comments about your essay in
the form below. Your e-structor has also embedded comments [in bold and in brackets]
throughout your essay. Thank you for choosing Smarthinking's OWL; best wishes with
revising your paper!
*Strengths of the essay:
Hi, Kevin! My name is Letitia M. and I will be working with you today on your
submission. This essay was so much fun to read! I enjoyed it tremendously, as you have
a great ability to create tension and suspense in your writing (as well as humor). I
couldnt wait to find out what happened next! Your use of specific details is especially
strong and does a good job of getting the reader to feel right there in the moment.
Heres just one example of many:

His stomach was turning over and the game was six hours away. They parked within
sight of the stadium. South Bend was jumping. The tail gating was in full swing. The
parking lots were full by nine in the morning. The smell of cigar smoke was thick in the
air.

Walz 8

The short sentences here work to emphasize the mood of the moment, and your details
set the scene. This is terrific writing, Kevin!
*kevin 6986553 has requested that you respond to the Main Idea/Thesis:
Now that you have a complete draft of your essay, you can go back and check out your
opening paragraph to make sure it gives the reader a clear sense of the main idea of the
essay. Heres what you have at the end of the first paragraph, typically where the writer
provides a sense of the essays main idea:

This is the story of a coach a team a shirt and a fan.

I like that this sentence definitely gets the readers interest, and you do include four key
elements of this event. However, its still just a little choppy (partially because of lack of
commas and partially because of the nature of this sentence in general), and it doesnt
quite give the reader the full flavor of whats to come. This is more than just the story of
four vague items (coach, team, shirt, fan); its about how all of those four elements
come together towhat, exactly? Im not suggesting that you need to write a great big
long thesis statement, because these kinds of short, crisp sentences do work for your
writing style in general. However, consider how you might add just a little more sense of
the significance of this event in relation to these four aspects of the event. This will help
the reader to want to continue to read more!
Use of Resources:
Walz 9

You quote Lou Holtz a few times, so be sure you properly cite your source both within
the text and at the end in a separate list using proper formatting (most likely MLA, but
check with your instructor). Note, too, that there are special rules involved in citing
sources. For example, one of your quotes from Holtz is quite lengthy, and the quotation
marks are used in a confusing manner. Long quotes (longer than four lines) are
formatted as block quotes separate from the paragraph in which they appear. For
more information, check out the Handbooks chapter on MLA formatting here:
http://services.smarthinking.com/static/document_library/docs/writeman/MLA_Lesson
.pdf

*kevin 6986553 has requested that you respond to the Grammar & Mechanics:
When you are ready to proofread, pay attention to even the little things like
punctuation. Make sure you use apostrophes properly, for instance. If something
belongs to Coach Johnson, it wouldnt be Johnsons, as that word refers to more than
one person named Johnson rather than something belonging to Johnson. Also check
your comma usage. Commas may seem trivial, but they can make a big difference in the
readability and flow of language. For example, the sentence at the end of the first
paragraph is hard to read because you havent separated the four items in that list with
commas. Yes, your reader will get what you mean, but remember that missing commas
can make a sentence confusing while extra unnecessary commas can be distracting. For
guidance on how to use punctuation properly, check out the Writers Handbook here:

Walz 10

http://services.smarthinking.com/static/document_library/docs/writeman/5_08.cfm

Summary of Next Steps:
1. Make sure your introduction contains a statement of the main idea of the
essay. Make sure you are able to suggest the significance of this story and not just what
happens in it!
2. Cite your sources properly using MLA guidelines (or whatever style guide
your instructor specifies).
3. Check for punctuation errors, correcting as appropriate
I have enjoyed working with you today, Kevin; this was one of the most engaging stories
Ive read in a while. I hope I get a chance to work with you again. Good luck!
Best,
Letitia M.
Find additional resources in Smarthinking's online library:
You can find more information about writing, grammar, and usage in Smarthinking's
student handbooks. You can visit the Smarthinking Writer's Handbook or the
Smarthinking ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) Writer's Handbook.
************************************************************************
*
Please look for more comments in your essay below. Thank you for visiting
Smarthinking. We encourage you to submit future essays.
Walz 11

************************************************************************
*

Kevin Walz
Professor Jerome M. McKeever
English 1020
29 July 2014
Count 1415
Catholics Vs. Convicts: Oh What a Week
A week in October 1988 was one of the most unique in college football. Two
teams as different as night and day would come together for a football game in South
Bend Indiana. The old and the new. The boisterous or the reverent. This is the story of
a coach a team a shirt and a fan.
At the end of Notre Dame Football season the Scholastic, the university
student magazine featured a full-page ad that read, Avoid the Rush, Hate Miami Early.
Only 198 Days Left! *Check your use of commas in the previous sentence. The phrase
the university student magazine is a phrase meant to modify Scholastic, but it is not
part of the root sentence. Be sure to punctuate the sentence accordingly.] It was
payback time. This marked the beginning of the hate that would bubble and simmer for
198 days. One student even called Jimmy Johnsons office and told him he was beating
the rush and hating them early. Johnson would talk about it at an alumni dinner. The
student became famous. This sparked two roommates with an entrepreneurial flair to
Walz 12

desine a t-shirt that on the front said unfinished business and on the back it said
Catholics vs convicts. This comes from Notre Dame being a Catholic University and
many of the Miami players having run ins with the law. The game will forever be known
by this moniker.
For a thirteen year old boy named Kevin Walz the game was so far away. He
came from a Notre Dame obsessed family. His father was a double domer. His mother
and sister Saint Marys grads. His brother and brother in-law are also ND grads. Hate
was not well known to Kevin but he hated Miami. As a young man his intense love for
Notre Dame was bolstered by his family. He attended his first football game at the age
of three. He grew up watching the teams coached by Gerry Faust. The teams did not
fare well so when a Coach named Lou Holtz stepped onto campus lots of things
changed. As the 1988 season approached Notre Dames stock was on the rise. Miami
had spent the last several years making teams look bad and rubbing it in as they did.
The last time Notre Dame had played Miami the score was 58-7 Miami. The sting still
hurt from that game. Everyone remembered it.
Emotions were boiling over as both teams kept winning as the game got closer
and closer. It seemed inevitable that the two teams would meet with the 1988 national
championship on the line. This would propel fans on both sides into a frenzy. As the
week of the game started all of the college football world had its eyes on South Bend.
Notre Dames administrators were in a new position. The usually polite but
passionate Notre Dame crowd was feeling the need for revenge. The Catholics Vs
Convicts shirts were flying off the shelf. The media was stirring the pot. Coach Holtz
Walz 13

tried to stay above the fray. When asked about the shirt he said "Our secretaries don't
wear them," he said. "My coaches don't wear them. The players don't wear them. And
my wife doesn't wear one. And those are the only people I'm around this time of year."
(Lou Holtz) [Where did this quote come from? Be sure to cite the source properly, both
here and at the end of your essay in a Work Cited list.] He did his best but things were
escalating quickly. The mood on campus was becoming salty. What was meant to be a
humor article in the Notre Dame student newspaper, the Observer, took things a little
too far. It was written from Jimmy Johnsons point of view. "You intellectual snobs like
to poke at ... our academic program," the author wrote. "Now, we may not have any
Rhodes Scholars, but I'll have you know that we have the nation's leading programs in
intramural bowling, gator wrestling, drug running, and sports car appreciation." This
had pushed things a bit too far and the administration was forced to respond. They
asked coach Holtz to say something. "When I first came to Notre Dame," wrote Holtz, "I
was impressed with four things about this student body -- its competitiveness, its
intelligence, its intense desire to succeed and its closeness and caring for other people. I
would hope our students display those same traits when it comes to football rivalries.
"We look forward to welcoming Miami's team and fans for our next home game. Let's
make sure that the Hurricanes leave our campus impressed with the classiness of our
program and fans." (Lou Holtz)
As Kevin and his father took the back way into campus along the Saint Joe River
they saw signs in a usually reserved part of South Bend. His stomach was turning over
and the game was six hours away. They parked within sight of the stadium. South Bend
Walz 14

was jumping. The tail gating was in full swing. The parking lots were full by nine in the
morning. The smell of cigar smoke was thick in the air. The beer was flowing this was a
bad sign for South Bend police.
The players could feel the tension in the air. The pre-game mass and the walk to
the stadium was electric. The Notre Dame team was on the field finishing their warm up
when a freshman on the Miami team trying to make a name for himself walked through
the Notre Dame line and bumped a player. The Notre Dame players were in no mood to
back down and a fight broke out in the Notre Dame tunnel. The police had to break it
up. In the locker room after the fight the Notre Dame players were in a frenzy. To the
contrary the mood in the Miami locker room was one of annoyance. This would prove
fatal for the Hurricanes.
Kevin and his father made their way to the Grotto for a prayer and to the stadium
for the game. They sat in the South end zone two thirds of the way up the seats. The
crowd was going crazy. Young Kevin could hardly take the tension. He started by
making his first of many trips to the restroom.
Coach Holtz was in the locker room trying to focus his players. This quote would
go down in history. "You have an afternoon to play, a lifetime to remember," Holtz
said. "But I want you to do one thing: You save Jimmy Johnson's ass for me!" (Lou Holtz)
The game started and the stadium was as loud as it had ever been. Notre Dame
and Miami traded body blows. Kevin could hardly stand the pressure. He kept leaving
his father for the bathroom or a drink. Every time he would go Notre Dame would
score. The crowd started to urge him to go more and more often. It was all in good fun.
Walz 15

Kevin and his father had a wonderful day but it was all coming down to one last
unforgettable play.
Notre Dame had led off and on the entire day but a late game turnover had
given Miami one last chance. Miami drove to inside the ten yard line but had stalled. T
was forth down and they were down by seven. Kevin felt like he needed to go to the
restroom again but resisted the urge. Coach Holtz was pacing the sideline barking out
orders. Miamis quarterback dropped back for a pass and lofted it to the corner of the
end zone I was sitting in. The air just went out of the stadium as the ball was caught.
This left Miami to decide to kick to tie the game or go for two to win it. Meanwhile
Kevin was left ready to cry. [I love how you keep coming back to poor Kevin and his need
to go to the bathroom. Hilarious!] Coach Holtz knew they would go for two. He was
preparing his team for a two point play. As the teams lined up Kevins body was in
revolt. His bowels twisted his stomach sank. The Miami play looked to him just like the
play they ran to score on just a minute before. The ball floated in the air when Pat
Terrell jumped in the air and knocked it to the ground.
The sound was defining they jumped they hugged they screamed and slapped
high fives. Coach Holtz on the other had was all work as there was an on sides kick on
his way. Long story short Notre Dame won the game. The jubilation was over the top.
Kevin and his father made their way home. They would later that year see Notre Dame
win the National Title. But the day that really won them the title was that beautiful fall
day when the convicts came to town. The Irish had slain the Goliath of college football.
[This is a terrific conclusion. Consider how you might give a little more sense of the
Walz 16

importance of the moment, as reflected here, in your introduction as well.] Oh what a
week it was!