Luck runs out for Kansas town

Luck runs out for Kansas town

Hutchinson (Kansas) News: Let’s see if we have this straight. The Fighting Irish of Chapman likely would have kept their low profile if an EF3 tornado hadn’t leveled a good portion of their north-central Kansas town in 2008. And they still might be the Fighting Irish instead of looking for a new high school mascot.

The tornado thrust the town and its Fighting Irish spirit into national headlines, catching the attention of those fussy Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. That notoriety possibly reminded Notre Dame to whip out a cease-and-desist order this past summer to halt Chapman High School from using the Fighting Irish mascot.

To be fair, Notre Dame made initial contact with Chapman in 2006 about the mascot flap. But Notre Dame didn’t get hardcore about the issue until after the tornado prompted Chapman residents to rally and sport Fighting Irish T-shirts as they began the difficult work of cleaning up their town.

It would be one matter if Chapman High School were the only school in the country to use the Fighting Irish mascot. But it’s not.

Why doesn’t Notre Dame dole out cease-and-desist orders to all those Fighting Irish at Dublin High School, Dublin, Ga., or Seneca High School, Seneca, Ill., or Ursuline High School, Youngstown, Ohio. The list goes on and on.

Notre Dame’s cease-and-desist order severely limited Chapman’s use of the Fighting Irish moniker, including the erasure of the leprechaun with its raised fists on the Chapman High School basketball court at the completion of the 2011-12 season.

Notre Dame might think it sports the luck of the Irish in winning this small battle, but it can’t possibly replicate the Fighting Irish spirit and winning attitude displayed by Chapman residents in the days that followed seeming loss.