Ranking the 10 most iconic college football traditions
By Phil Poling
No. 3: Notre Dame, Play Like A Champion Today
Notre Dame football is rich with tradition, but the most familiar is a simple phrase plastered on the wall on their walk to the field from the locker room: “Play Like A Champion Today.”
Head coach Lou Holtz didn’t come up with the phrase, but upon being hired in 1986 found it in an old Irish football book in the library. No one could give him an answer to what happened to the original, so someone painted a new sign and Holtz hung it up between the home locker room and the tunnel to take the field. Ever since. Notre Dame players have tapped it on their way to the gridiron.
According to Holtz, the sign represents all the people who helped each player reach Notre Dame. It also represents all the players who’ve come before the current group. In addition to that, it holds each player accountable to their teammates.
“Play Like A Champion Today,” has been printed on t-shirts, bumper stickers, it’s even sprouted an educational service for over 100,000 coaches and parents. From a simple saying to a routine tap, all the way to an educational series, “Play Like A Champion Today,” continues to grow.