One Foot Down Designs The Shirt

Tomorrow the 24th edition of The Shirt will be unveiled at 6 PM ET continuing a neat little tradition that supports the football program and finances The Shirt Charity Fund.

The Shirt has certainly evolved over the years. From Tecmo Bowl graphics to the world of high definition we've seen some small changes from year to year but the overall theme has pretty much stayed the same since 1990.

All that is nice but The Shirt has been in need of a makeover for quite some time. What follows is the creative work of the OFD staff with photoshop skills from fishoutofwater. These are the top designs we came up with for the 2013 version of The Shirt.

Enjoy.

Click on an image for better resolution.

1. Overtime Champions

This new 2013 version of The Shirt pays homage to the instant-classic thrilling triple overtime victory last November against Pitt. Using a screen print of 'Deal With It Jesus' on the front, The Shirt utilizes ndmspaint's beloved recap of that fateful missed field goal by Panther placekicker Kevin Harper. Because any time you accrue 39 rec's on this website you deserve your piece of art on a tee-shirt.

No. 2 is featured on the back in honor of Chris Brown, Bennett Jackson, and Christ who decided to play a Jedi mind trick on Pitt and take the play-call 'Desperado' to a whole new level. You can honor such great feats of entertainment and artistry by purchasing this year's The Shirt for $29.99 with part of the proceeds going to build ndmspaint the highest quality Paint program in human history.

2. The Reverse Jinx

Notre Dame has its fair share of digestible and popular phrases perfect for t-shirts. "Wake up the Echoes," "Here come the Irish," and "Shake down the thunder" are just some of these catchy words woven into the fabric of Irish football. Yet, while The Shirt always focuses on winning on the field, it's about time the design paid tribute to all the fine young men who did great things off the field, and also all the coaches who tried their best for Our Mother but succumbed to the intense pressure on the field.

This year's edition honors the 6 most spectacular head coaching failures in program history, men who went a combined 147-125-2 over 24 seasons. Yes, these coaches were in South Bend for nearly 20% of the program's history and although they struggled to beat opponents on Saturday's they were sure to mold fine young men on Sunday through Friday.

The 2013 edition of The Shirt pays homage to the ideals at Notre Dame which show this University is not, and never will be, a football factory. Making poor hiring decisions of head coaches happens to the best of program's around the country, but the winning off the field never changes in South Bend. Even if a football team defeats the Irish on Saturday take solace in the fact that the players' diplomas will mean more than their opponents and you have every right to be smug about it.

3. Sponsored Like A Champion Today

If there's one thing One Foot Down respects about Notre Dame it is the sanctity of a sponsor-free football stadium. Everyone remembers the story when Christ came to campus in 1929, and after visiting His Mother atop the Golden Dome, made a beeline directly to Rockne's office and told him, "Thou shall not have sponsors inside the new stadium!"

So far we've been able to combat this obnoxious and terrible evil that has spread all over other stadium's across the country. For there is nothing worse when trying to watch a well executed halfback sweep than having an advert staring at you from 300 feet away completely ruining the atmosphere and experience as ordained by God.

However, we're also fully aware of the realities surrounding the modern game. There's nothing more important at Notre Dame than backing up the Brinks truck and throwing money at a problem, especially when it's someone else's hard earned cash. This also works out well because The Shirt is always garish (we love using that word) so we might as well make more money while we're at this.

This year's version of The Shirt features all of the sponsors who have been itching to get their name inside Notre Dame Stadium but have been rebuffed for decades. From Gurley Leep and Martin's to Meijer and the SBPD we'd like to thank everyone for collaborating on this project.

4. Independent Cash

Knute Rockne was known for many things as an early 20th Century innovator of the game of football---some of it based in myth and some of it in reality. However, what Rockne did understand above all else is the power of straight cash. This year the 2013 version of The Shirt is designed in memory of Notre Dame's most influential coach and his crafty revenue generating ways, without whom the University may be some small backwater and impoverished center of learning, or worse, Boston College.

In the 1920's there was no NBC television contract or Adidas deal pouring money into Notre Dame's coffers. It's true that the community of Irish fans was growing by the second back then, but there was no official merchandise license directing millions of dollars to South Bend. No, the University's wealth came from the gritty work and ingenuity of Rockne and his blessed ability to travel all across the country, fill stadiums everywhere, and bring home victory on the gridiron.

This year, we pay tribute to the most famous figure in school history with a glorious new The Shirt. The 2013 version urges all students, alumni, faculty, and fans everywhere to come to campus and open your wallet for dear ol' Notre Dame. It's what Rockne would have wanted, no it's what he would have expected of each and everyone of you.

Just look at poor Rock out there in practice in a dingy old sweatshirt. There isn't even one measly Notre Dame logo on there! You can make up for it today by going to Hammes and being full of so much swag with a black quarter-zip pullover with emblazoned Vegas gold monogram. Get to the bookstore right now and spend $200. Get to the bookstore and buy 10 of the new 2013 version of The Shirt and honor Notre Dame's independence and ever-growing wealth.

5. The Fighting Adidas

In August of 2012 the University of Notre Dame football program unveiled something that revolutionized the way we look at sports uniforms. In conjunction with Adidas, the Fighting Irish pushed boundaries, broke down barriers, and hit an absolute home run with the Shamrock Series uniforms worn at Soldier Field against the Miami Hurricanes.

Beloved by the players, these uniforms set a new trend in college football that will reverberate for years to come. It is true they left the general public in an active state of bewilderment but that's because it can be difficult for everyday people to understand true genius.

It is our pleasure to announce the return of the Shamrock Series design, complete with the Leftrechaun, for this year's version of The Shirt. If this is as popular as the football uniforms the school won't be able to make enough of these as they fly off the shelf this spring and summer.

6. The Anti-The Shirt

A throwback to the simpler times of the 1980's before The Shirt existed. A throwback to the days before the Hammes Bookstore corrupted campus. A throwback to when men were men and their taste in university apparel was staid and sensible.

Introducing The Shirt, 2013 made by Champion U.S.A. with the finest and strongest 100% cotton manufactured in America. This year's version of The Shirt evokes the glorious tradition of yesteryear at Notre Dame, back when students had no understanding of losing at football, players didn't need something as silly as a training table, and the head coach was only the 12th highest paid university employee.

Grantland Rice once famously wrote "Outlined against a blue gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again" and now you can have the honor of recreating the heaven's from that glorious day with this year's The Shirt. Purchase this year's edition of The Shirt, for charity's sake yes, but more importantly to make a statement that you support the older and better Notre Dame.

7. The Future

The future is now here. One Foot Down was able to sit down with dozens of Notre Dame students and get their input on a bold new design for the 2013 The Shirt. The result is the most ambitious and technologically advanced t-shirt in history.

In conjunction with Desso GrassMasster^TM we've been able to weave in actual Field Turf to the front of the shirt. In anticipation for the new Field Turf going in to Notre Dame Stadium later in the summer, this innovative shirt will give fans everywhere the opportunity to see and feel the Irish playing surface up close and personal.

The technology does not stop there. On each shoulder are mounted 4-inch Bose digital speakers. Weighing an incredibly light 4 ounces apiece, the speakers pump music from the ND Football Spotify playlist so your whole seating section can get extra hype with awesome Saturday game day beats. This also removes music from the PA system and returns the stadium to the genteel atmosphere that's made Rock's House so famous, while keeping the tradition of hushed conversations between patrons alive and well.

We really should have stopped there but we have to give the people what they want. The back of the shirt features a 16-inch Sony LED video screen that will finally bring the modern world of replays to fans inside the stadium. There's no need to fiddle with your phone or stare at some monstrous jumbotron ruining the peaceful tranquil stadium atmosphere. Now all you need is to have someone sitting in front of you to be wearing The Shirt and you'll be tapped in to the NBC replay feed all game long.

In order to have The Shirt officially cleared by the University we did have to make one concession. The yellow-clad ushers were extremely skeptical and worried about increased tomfoolery inside their stadium. As a result, an usher alarm system is installed on the back of the shirt allowing them to alert rogue crowd members of their insolence. The flashing lights also vibrate and the ushers are allowed to override the music in the Bose speakers in order to shout warnings to any offending fans.

Needless to say this is the best The Shirt ever created at Notre Dame and a major breakthrough in modern t-shirt manufacturing design. You'll want to purchase as many as possible to hand out at games because ‘You'll Want to See the Replay.'

8. The BK Special

Tired of all that drab navy blue Notre Dame clothing you've accumulated over the years? Does The Shirt unveiling bore you because you know it will be either green, gold, or blue? Sick of some cheesy and played out slogan making the design so lame every year?

That all changes in 2013 with a new look designed by the head football coach of Notre Dame, Mr. Brian Kelly. As the winningest Irish coach of the last 2 decades, Kelly has brought a renewed optimism, sense of hope, and fighting spirit back to South Bend. Most of all, CBK has redefined what it means to be cool at Notre Dame with his provocative, modern, cutting edge, yet prudent, traditional, and savvy fashion sense.

Whether it's an adjustable visor, all-black tracksuit, blue plaid sport coat, or a rockin' pair of officially licensed Notre Dame shades, there is no doubt that Brian Kelly is a definitive trend-setter in the world of college athletics. Now, his personal touch comes to The Shirt for 2013.

This year's design really encompasses what Kelly is all about. Confident. Bold. Decisive. Charismatic. It says ‘I've been working my craft for 20 years and I don't care if you like it or not because here it is son.' Make sure to pick up the 2013 edition of The Shirt to honor Brian Kelly and his achievements in South Bend.

9. Traein dÚsachtach

It's crazy that the new The Shirt is black, but that's how it goes. Dozens of USC fans are out there living as our foes. Maybe it's not too late to learn how to love (stadium music) and forget how to hate (Dayne Crist fumbling).

Mental wounds from that 2011 loss not healing. The game of football can be a bitter shame. Sometimes when you're inside Notre Dame Stadium it feels like you're going off the rails on a crazy train. Let's go...buy the 2013 edition of The Shirt!