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Newsstand: ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler reveals why he does not hate Notre Dame

Kyle Kellyby:Kyle Kelly•about 10 hours•

ByKyleKelly

Chris Fowler Notre Dame
Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Chris Fowler a broadcaster for ESPN, left, speaks with Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman prior to the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

On Monday night, ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Chris Fowler will be on the call for the College Football Playoff national championship game between No. 7-seeded Notre Dame (14-1) and No. 8-seeded Ohio State (13-2). The fact that Fowler will be narrating the game has been a cause for concern for some Fighting Irish fans.

In 2014, Fowler became the network’s No. 1 play-by-play broadcaster for college football. He has commented on 11 national championship games and called at least 15 Fighting Irish games during that time. He has earned a reputation among Notre Dame fans for disliking their team. However, according to Fowler, those assumptions are incorrect.

On Saturday, during national championship media day, Fowler addressed the topic, explaining that he does not hate Notre Dame. It’s more of the opposite.

“I don’t know what they base it on,” Fowler told Blue & Gold. “What do you base it on? If you love the sport, you love and respect the tradition of Notre Dame. I’ve said that for a long time. (College) GameDay was there for years. We were at Notre Dame Stadium for some really big games. We don’t have a chance to call their home games, obviously, for a long time. We called road games, obviously, in some big spots.

“It couldn’t be further from the truth. I think the experience of being around this Notre Dame team is joyful, actually. I like Marcus Freeman a lot. I’ve known him for a long time. I think he’s a guy that’s really easy to work with. Very easy to root for. These Notre Dame players are very easy to root for. (How) can you get to know (quarterback) Riley (Leonard) and some of these guys and not feel like you want them to succeed? 

“I don’t know where that stuff comes from, and I don’t really worry about it because when you’re old, you learn some things. One is that you cannot control people’s perceptions. I don’t worry about it. Positive or negative. The fan base, ‘Oh, we love you. You’re the greatest.’ I’m just calling what I see.’

“If you make big plays in big games, it doesn’t mean I love you. It just means I’m doing your job. If I get excited about the other teams doing things in a big game, it doesn’t mean I hate you. It’s the same thing. You don’t worry too much about what people think. I hope people are level-headed enough to know the truth. 

“We will call it 100% fair. I wish we had the chance to do more Notre Dame games. But that wasn’t in the cards this year.” 

It is in the cards on Monday night when the national championship begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Kickoff will be shortly thereafter.

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Notre Dame Quote of the Weekend 

‘I said I don’t believe in ghosts? I don’t believe in ghosts, but I do believe in God. You know what? I’m a faithful person, so there’s a part of me that feels like God has His hand in everything that goes on in life.

“But what you can’t do is sit here and say, I’m just going to let God handle everything and not do the work. That’s the reality of what we focus on, is putting in the work that gives this program the best chance to have success. And that’s what everybody has been committed to doing, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

— Irish coach Marcus Freeman on the mystique of Notre Dame and not believing in ghosts.

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