The Fighting Irish football team started in 1887, against none other than their rivals, the Michigan Wolverines. The football team has had many great players with untold abilities and talents. The player with the most heart only stepped onto the field once in an actual game and for approximately one minute. His name was Daniel Ruettiger or Rudy, and he only weighed 165 pounds and stood at 5'6". This little man with a heart of a giant may have very well been the most driven player to ever take the field.

The Fighting Irish football team has many traditions that have been there since the beginning. As the players start their journey out to the field they all lay a hand on a sign that simply says "Play Like a Champion Today." Their normal colors are blue and gold, but on rare occasions they may be outfitted in green jerseys. In their normal fashion, the band plays the fighting Irish victory song continuously. The song is the most recognizable in football history.

Notre Dame has had many excellent football teams with eleven National championships, which makes it hard to pin point its best team in Notre Dame football history. While the football program may have trouble deciding on their best football team, there is no argument of their most famous player. George Gipp known also as the Gipper, is by far the most famous player who ever played for Notre Dame. It was Coach Knute Rockne who told his team the Gipper's supposed last words "Win One for the Gipper." The speech did inspire his team and they won the game.