National Championship. Ever since it was announced that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Alabama Crimson Tide would play in the Bowl Championship Series title game Monday night, I’ve been trying to get my head around those two words. As a Notre Dame alumnus and lifelong fan, “national championship” sounds so foreign, so unreal, after decades of mediocre football with a few teases of success.

But just as National Championship has an otherworldly quality for me, mainly because heretofore it seemed so unattainable, the name “Notre Dame” also has an elusive quality. Drinking beers and talking college football in my hometown a few weeks ago, a high school buddy asked me, “Man, so what is the connection between Notre Dame...