Editor, News-Register:

A Tell it to Sweeney editorial cartoon shows the poor children who have their noses pressed up against the bakery window. Those children, who never have the chance to enjoy the frosted Shamrock treats, cannot fathom why the players would give up chance to play Notre Dame Football.

The College Football Playoff Committee’s decision to leave Notre Dame out of the 2025 playoffs’ 12 teams has brought out the schools’ eggs against the wall coaching philosophy.

We will take the ball and go home and sit in the dorm room and mope and pout. I did not get my own way so I quit.

Get mad, throw chairs, put some fight in that Irish.

One of the keys to being successful in sports is opportunity. Coach Marcus Freeman was all full of himself all year on the sideline interviews — the chin makes the champion. Sure, you got knocked down — pick yourself back up and go win the bowl game, show the world you should have been included.

The Irish released a statement Sunday afternoon stating they would not attend a lesser bowl game. The underlying issue is that ESPN is in bed with the committee to force Rockne’s old team from the independent ranks. The big business end is that the network will likely take a hit, as the Pop Tarts Bowl on Dec. 27 in Orlando will struggle to attract viewers without the Golden Dome fan base tuning in.

The school has a rich tradition and deep pockets.

Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua commented on expanding the field to 16 teams. Reported in The Intelligencer, Wednesday, Dec. 10 edition, sounds like a wall-flower at the senior prom if only they asked more from us.

Will frustrated head coach Freeman leave for the professional head coaching position? Hurt the recruiting class to field future championship teams? With a 10-game winning streak, a hot hand, one sure way to make sure that Notre Dame did not win was not to let them play.

Irish fans believe this is so ugly. After the South Bend-based university defeated Stanford, the team’s ranking was lowered, placing Alabama ahead of them. Then, after losing on Dec. 6 to the 3rd-ranked Georgia, Alabama retained its gifted ranking, go figure. What would Ronald Reagan do? With five of the 12 teams from the SEC, one of them might even make it to the championship.

The Four Horsemen have unsettled their mules and are headed back to the barn. Next fall, another group of Gold Helmet-wearing student athletes will come roaring out of the tunnel.

I do not believe quitting is the answer. This shows the school, coaches, and players have become spoiled, too busy reading their own press releases. You’ve got to get off the stool and fight those championship rounds till the bell sounds.

By the way, no one is a bigger Irish fan than me.

Michael Traubert

Wellsburg