Something stuck out to me while listening to Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke address the media on Monday morning. When asked about the "countdown" clock that Michigan has for their games against Michigan State and Ohio (Hoke refuses to use the "State" part of their name and now the media does as well) it was pointed out that there is no such a clock for Notre Dame! But why? Hoke's response to the question was "those are Big Ten conference games (referring to the Spartans and Buckeyes) I think that's always part of it, in state rivalries, and obviously the rivalry on the last Saturday in the month of November (talking about Ohio State) is pretty special." Ok, so there is his answer but a little elaboration would have been nice.

I can only speak for myself, but the Notre Dame game early in the season has always been the one contest that I look forward to most. I think it all started when I was young and my little brother, an 8 year old Jewish kid decided to root for the Irish because his two older brothers cheered on Michigan. It infuriated me, not because he choose Notre Dame, not because at the time Lou Holtz and the program were so damn corrupt, not even because it was a Catholic school and we were all a bunch of Jews. No, it made me so mad because there he was rooting for a school in Indiana when there were plenty of options locally and of course the Irish were the Wolverines rival.

When we were kids I hoped it would past, I prayed that the older, Eric (the brother) got the less he would like ND and maybe stray to one of the in state schools. Hell, he attended Western Michigan and during his time in Kalamazoo he did not attend one game at Waldo Stadium if it meant that Notre Dame was playing at the same time. IN fact after he graduated, he openly cheered against his alma mater Bronco's last season when the Irish beat them in South Bend. I always wondered how a person like that could exist, especially a person that I call family? Every year he calls me and breaks down how good Brady Quin will be, or Jimmy Clausen or even Dayne Crist and every year those QB's turn out to be underacheivers. But it still riles me up! I remember the Ron Powlus years, when the current QB coach of Akron was supposed to win 4 Heisman Trophy's or how every coach since Holtz was supposed to restore the glory whether it was Ty Willingham, Charlie Weis or the current Brian Kelly who is winless in 2011. So after I realized that Eric was all about the "Golden Domers" and he was not going change, I did the only thing a man in my position could do.....hate the Irish!

It wasnt supposed to be like this, my brother and I should live and die with the same teams. We should celebrate together during the good times and be bummed together during the bad times. But it just didn't work out like that. Eric, liking Notre Dame was the tip of the iceberg. Though his youth he also liked Larry Bird and the Celtics and Daryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden and the 86" Mets. How could this be? How could this person that I am related to by blood get it so wrong when it comes to his sports fandom in Detroit?

So even though Brady Hoke doesn't think there should be a "countdown" clock before the Notre Dame game, I sure do! Because with me it's more than about a rivalry, it's about family and I'm told nothing is more important than that!