D-Day

Today would be D-Day. For all of you non-sports fans out there, that would be NFL Draft Day.

Now typically, I am not overly passionate about NFL Draft Day. But this year is another story.

(Photo courtesy of Mark Wurfel)

I am, most definitely, a passionate Notre Dame fan. But my passion right now is a tad bit different than it usually is.

When Notre Dame Quarterback Brady Quinn entered the draft, I was his biggest supporter. It was very painful for me to watch the draft that year, watching every team pass him by. And while I was happy to see that he got drafted by the Cleveland Browns, his childhood team, I had a bad feeling that it was not going to end up well for him. Which it hasn't. (Good luck to him, by-the-way, with his new team, the Denver Broncos!)

Flash forward to 2010. Typically, I am all about supporting my Notre Dame guys in the draft. This is where this year comes in to play. I am not, NOT a Jimmy Clausen fan. He turned me off from the very beginning when he showed up in a limo to the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana, as a high school senior, with his four high school championship rings on his fingers, announcing his intention to play college football at Notre Dame. Strike one. Then comes Beano Cook, announcing that Jimmy Clausen will win four Heisman Trophy's at Notre Dame, before the kid has even stepped on the field (aghh ... flash backs to Ron Powlus). Strike One-A. (I can't really count that is strike two, as that really wasn't Jimmy's fault.)

Then comes the overwhelming ego. I realize that a quarterback has to have a certain level of confidence in order to succeed at any level, but there is a difference in being confident, and being cocky, and Jimmy is the latter. Case in point ... he was driving down the field at the end of the Notre Dame/Stanford game, doing his best to score the winning touchdown with just minutes left on the clock, TAUNTING the Stanford bench BEFORE he even scored the winning touchdown. Which, by-the-way, he did NOT end up scoring the winning touchdown. Strike two.

And finally, while being interviewed about his recent cover on ESPN Magazine, he was quoted as saying, "I'm just a humble kid who likes to play football." I'm sorry, humble and Jimmy Clausen do not belong in the same sentence together. Strike three.

Now, I do not wish Mr. Clausen any harm, and of course, I wish all Notre Dame players heading into the 2010 NFL Draft much success. However, I just pray that my St. Louis Rams do NOT draft Jimmy Clausen.

So there's my little rant for the day. Happy D-Day! May my Notre Dame guys do well. May the Rams draft well. And may they draft ABC ... Anyone But Clausen.

Cheers!