**Notre Dame’s Glory Repackaged: *Here Come The Irish* Offers Fans a Fun, Flawed, But Heartfelt Propaganda-Fueled Ride Through 2023**
There’s something undeniably magnetic about Notre Dame football. The gold helmets, the echoes of “Rally Sons of Notre Dame” ringing through the stadium, the weight of history pressing down on every snap—it’s a program that thrives on myth as much as it does on modern gridiron success. So when *Here Come The Irish*, the annual behind-the-scenes documentary series chronicling the 2023 Fighting Irish season, hit screens, it was never going to be a warts-and-all exposé. This is Notre Dame, after all—a place where tradition and storytelling are as vital as touchdowns. And while the series delivers a glossy, at times overly sanitized version of the season, it’s also an entertaining, occasionally moving love letter to a team (and an institution) that wears its heart on its golden sleeves.
From the opening shots of the Basilica’s spire cutting through the South Bend sky to Marcus Freeman’s locker room speeches, *Here Come The Irish* leans hard into the aura of Notre Dame. That’s not a criticism—it’s the point. This isn’t *Hard Knocks*; there’s no room for front-office tension or unvarnished player frustrations. Instead, the series leans into the scripted grandeur of Irish football, offering fans a polished, adrenaline-pumping highlight reel interspersed with human moments designed to make you cheer louder on Saturdays.
The 2023 season was a rollercoaster—a 10-3 campaign that saw exhilarating highs (a statement win over USC) and crushing lows (the last-second heartbreak against Ohio State). The documentary, predictably, smooths out the bumps. Losses are framed as noble battles, never indictments of coaching or execution. The Ohio State defeat, a brutal reminder of Notre Dame’s near-elite status, is repackaged as a moral victory—proof that the Irish could hang with the big boys. It’s propaganda, sure, but it’s *earnest* propaganda, the kind that makes you nod along even as you recognize the spin.
Where *Here Come The Irish* truly shines is in its player spotlights. The series excels at turning athletes into protagonists, giving viewers just enough backstory to invest emotionally. Audric Estimé’s bruising runs feel more impactful when we see his quiet determination in practice. Sam Hartman’s leadership takes center stage, his final college season framed as a redemption arc even before the first snap. The cameras linger on the camaraderie—the locker room celebrations, the sideline embraces after big plays—crafting a narrative of brotherhood that’s impossible to resist if you’re already wearing blue and gold.
Of course, the documentary’s refusal to dwell on flaws will frustrate those hoping for deeper analysis. The offensive line’s early-season struggles? Glossed over. The defensive breakdowns against Louisville? Treated as a temporary stumble, not a systemic concern. Even Freeman’s coaching growth—a legitimate storyline—gets the hero’s treatment, with no tough questions about clock management or in-game adjustments. Again, this isn’t investigative journalism; it’s a victory lap for the faithful.
But perhaps that’s okay. Notre Dame fans don’t tune in for nitpicking—they want to relive the joy of gameday, and *Here Come The Irish* delivers that in spades. The USC game, a cathartic blowout, is presented with cinematic flair, complete with thunderous crowd noise and slow-motion shots of Estimé bulldozing defenders. The road win at Duke, a nail-biter decided in the final seconds, plays like a underdog thriller, even though Notre Dame was favored. The editing is sharp, the music swelling at all the right moments, and by the time the clip reel of the bowl victory rolls, even skeptics will feel a surge of pride.
The most fascinating aspect of the series is how it mirrors Notre Dame’s eternal tightrope walk between nostalgia and progress. There are plenty of shots of Touchdown Jesus and the Four Horsemen montage, but also an emphasis on Freeman’s new-era energy. The series wants you to believe that 2023 was another step toward reclaiming championship glory, not just another very good-but-not-great season. It’s a delicate balance, and while the documentary occasionally tips into over-optimism, it’s a testament to the program’s (and the fanbase’s) enduring belief that next year is always the year.
*Here Come The Irish* won’t convert detractors. If you think Notre Dame is overrated or that its self-mythology is exhausting, this series will feel like two hours of pep rally footage. But for the devoted? It’s a satisfying, if imperfect, celebration. The 2023 team wasn’t legendary, but the documentary lets them feel like they were—and sometimes, that’s enough. After all, in South Bend, the story never really ends. It just gets repackaged, ready for the next chapter.
