Catholics vs. Convicts

Catholics vs. Convicts (2016)

Three words that lit a bitter rivalry on fire.

On October 15, 1988, Notre Dame hosted the University of Miami in what would become one of the greatest games in college football history. It was tradition vs. swagger, the No. 4-ranked Fighting Irish versus the No. 1-ranked Hurricanes, one coaching star, Lou Holtz, versus another, Jimmy Johnson. But the name still attached to the contest came from a t-shirt manufactured by a few Notre Dame students: “Catholics vs. Convicts.” As compelling as the tale of Notre Dame’s dramatic victory is—even losing quarterback Steve Walsh calls it “a helluva ballgame”—the backstory is just as riveting.

Date of release
2016-12-10
TMDB
7.0 / 10 (11)
Runtime
1h 42m
Genres
Documentary
Director
Patrick Creadon

Casting

Interesting facts

Catholics vs. Convicts is a 2016 documentary film about the October 15, 1988 Notre Dame-Miami football game between the Miami Hurricanes of the University of Miami and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

Background

In 1985, a rivalry started between the University of Notre Dame and University of Miami football teams after the Miami Hurricanes beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 58–7. This loss marked head coach Gerry Faust's last game at Notre Dame.

The rivalry culminated in a showdown three years later, which was dubbed "Catholics vs. Convicts." The name originated from a t-shirt slogan created by Notre Dame students Joe Fredrick and Michael Caponigro. The slogan played on Notre Dame's Catholic background and the public perception of Miami's players as college football's "bad boys," a reputation that was reinforced by the arrests of a number of Miami players.

The documentary is partially based on director Patrick Creadon's experience as a Notre Dame undergraduate at the time. Creadon was a senior at Notre Dame in 1988 and knew the students behind the "Catholics vs. Convicts" slogan.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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