Notre Dame is like the New England Patriots, either love em or hate em. I remember the 1987 football game between Notre Dame and the University of Miami in South Bend. A smart college kid at ND made some money printing shirts " Catholics vs. Convicts ".
More like the Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots success is only in the last 20 years, Dallas and ND have a history of success in multiple eras of the sport (but are currently in a prolonged drought)