A March Madness Hypothesis

I was watching Gonzaga dispatch the University of Iowa in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament today, which renewed a hypothesis I’ve had over the years. A key factor in reducing the prejudice against Catholics in this country over the years was not the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960; rather, it was Notre Dame football in the 1920’s and 1930’s (e.g., “Knute Rockne, All-American”) and the basketball powers in the mid-20th century that were Catholic schools.