It was a plan that was hatched after a few drinks at a get together of family and friends shortly after Christmas 2014. You know the type of plan I’m talking about. Everyone is feeling pretty good and together they come up with an idea that seems brilliant. Of course in the light of the next day (possibly aided by a headache) the flaws are exposed and the plan rarely materializes. The idea was for four friends to travel to Chicago and ultimately South Bend to watch Notre Dame play USC on October 17, 2015. Fortunately, in this case the plan didn’t die. By the grace of understanding wives and the tireless effort and incredible generosity of a good friend the plan became reality. Notre Dame vs. USC. Under the lights. Sellout crowd. Millions watching on TV. A dream come true.
I always planned to write about the trip. I wanted to share the Notre Dame game day experience through the eyes of a relative neophyte (I had been to campus twice before, once for a game). I’ll do a little bit of sharing about the game day experience, through some of the pictures I took. A quick caveat, the pictures were never intended to be published and as such aren’t of professional quality. It wouldn’t be difficult to find higher quality photos through a Google search. But the pictures are part of a greater story that has been percolating in my head for the last 9 months. I’m not sure why it took so long to write this. Some of the delay was simply that life got busy. In retrospect, I also think some of delay was serendipity. At the time of the game I didn’t know that I would be writing for a new site when I finally published this article. But it now seems like a perfect fit for my first post on 18 Stripes. What I do know is that this trip changed the way I view Notre Dame football. It provided me with a clarity that I wasn’t necessarily looking for, but one that I’m grateful to have.
Because the game was a 7:30 start we had plenty of time to take in all the sights and sounds on campus. Our first stop was the practice fields. As luck would have it they were open to the public.
I believe we all spotted the 5 man sled on the grass field at the same time. Like a migrating herd of wildebeest, without a word spoken, we instinctively made our way to the sled. When we arrived, we did what any self-respecting male would do. We started to hit the sled. In our zest to demonstrate our physical prowess, we failed to notice the usher (who had been watching us closely) had abandoned his post and was quickly approaching. When he arrived he said “we only have two rules here and you’ve already broken both of them… please stay off the natural grass field and don’t hit the sleds”. After a moment of feeling like kids being scolded for misbehaving at recess, we all had a good laugh and enticed the usher to take a few pictures for us. Without further incident we left the practice fields and explored the rest of the campus.
Campus Sights and Sounds
There has to be a picture of Touchdown Jesus!
We took some time to visit the Grotto, and light candles for some friends who had fallen ill.
We got a great spot for the player walk (even though this is a picture of the head coach and not a player).
We made it over to Bond Hall to watch the band play.
The Stadium
Next it was time to head to the stadium. When we found our seats an usher approached and told us that the team doesn’t come out of the main tunnel for warm ups so if we wanted to see the players close up, all we had to do was go to the concession area.
Walking right through the concession. Pretty cool.
Game Time
The moment the team came out of the tunnel was electric. Here come the Irish!
In many ways, the picture above is just a random crowd picture. The point is, when I took this photo the energy in the stadium was so thick, you could almost touch it. At face value, the entire spectacle was actually pretty strange. For a few brief hours, 80,000 people in Notre Dame stadium had been transformed into screaming, raving, lunatics. The impetus for this descent into lunacy? A group of 18 to 24 year olds running around on a fake grass field, hitting each other and chasing an oddly shaped ball.
Yet there we were, a full stadium overjoyed by what was happening on the field. Logically, it could be argued that football really has very little residual value. It is a game and nothing more. But to many this game was important. And that’s when it struck me. When people talk about Notre Dame they use words such as faith, tradition, excellence. No doubt, these are all woven into the fabric of Notre Dame. However, the word that came to mind at that moment was community. I never thought it would be possible to feel a sense of community with 80,000 people. But when I took this picture I felt exactly that.
I started as a fan of Notre Dame football primarily because the team was good. Over the years, I came to respect the institution and what it stood for which deepened the roots of my fandom. As I’ve reflected on the game day experience I’ve come to realize that the concept of community now permeates my relationship with Notre Dame. I will always cherish the time I had on this trip with my 3 good friends. They are incredible people and there is no doubt that sharing this experience brought us even closer. I’ve also been fortunate to be part of what I believe is a vibrant online community. The nucleus of this community is Notre Dame football, but it is so much more. The people that I had a chance to write with at OFD and now here at 18 Stripes are people that I consider good friends. Those who comment at OFD and now at 18 Stripes have also become friends. All of us brought together by the magnetic pull of Notre Dame football, but with bonds that are about more than football. That is a gift that transcends the game and I am grateful for it.
In the spirit of growing the community here at 18 Stripes, it would be great if you would be willing to share your thoughts in the comment section on what you believe makes Notre Dame special and why you are a fan of the football team.
Great stuff, Larz. Thanks for sharing. I was also at that game. It was an amazing atmosphere. My wife and I had been to a handful of games at ND. But my two boys, 9 and 11 at the time, enjoyed their first home game that night. They’d seen a spring game and the Shamrock Series in Indy, but not a home game at ND. I warned them that their experience at a game at ND may have peaked with their first one.
My first ND home game was with my dad. It was Halloween, 1998. We were already typical midwest Catholic subway alumni. He got tickets out of the blue one Thursday and he and I made the 5 hour trek on a moment’s notice the next day after work. We got on campus early and fell in love with the Bascillica, the Grotto, and all the beautiful sights, sounds and smells of ND campus on a fall Saturday.
I’ll skip the details of the trip but say that it was one of the best days of my life and the next week I ran out and bought my dad an ND turtleneck and sweater which I gave him for Christmas. He got sick that Christmas. Cancer, and never returned to work after the holidays. We’re a Moeller family and a friend of his actually told Gerry Faust about him and Gerry called him one day and talked football, family and faith on the phone for a couple hours with him. Dad called me at work sounding like a little kid. Yeah, Gerry’s a punchline for many, but that meant the world to us. In our talks while Dad was sick, he mentioned how happy he was to have had a chance to take me to a game. (I was mid-20s at this point)
He passed early that next February, six weeks after the diagnosis. The first time he was able to wear that sweater and turtleneck was when they dressed him at the funeral home and he’ll wear them forever.
Over the years I’ve been able to visit the campus numerous times and my fanhood has increased as my kids have gotten on board. But so has my appreciation for everything that makes ND unique. It’s not just a pretty campus with a good football team, not that I ever felt that way.
It’s faith, family, service, pride with humility, tradition and much more. I wasn’t a bad student, but I was not an ND-level student. My oldest, almost 12, has a chance. It’s one heck of a carrot to dangle when he starts thinking about letting up on school work.
Thanks for the chance to share.
Holy smokes this is an incredible and personal story, thanks for sharing.
FTQ, thank you so much for sharing this. Absolutely amazing. Definitely got a little dusty as I read this.
What a great story.
I was at the Halloween ’98 game too. That was a good day. Denson broke the all-time ND career rushing record that day, as I recall.
Yes he did. It was against Baylor and he went off that game. I didn’t know going in that he was approaching it, so it was great to be there when then announced it.
FTQ – Very touching story. Thanks for sharing your family’s personal experiences with Notre Dame.
I regret that I didn’t have the opportunity to experience a game in South Bend with my Dad (the person that introduced me to Irish Football in the ‘70’s). He passed away a few years back and I finally got to attend a game and visit the campus last year. My lanyard ticket is hanging from the crucifix that rested upon his casket. God, Country, Notre Dame… and family. I know his Irish eyes are smiling! Cheers.
Holy crap dude…cutting Steve Vasturia up in here
Very touching, thank you for sharing.
This is a great story. I will remember this for quite some time. Thank you very much for sharing
Great story, FTQ. Thanks for sharing. ND is and always has been, for so many of us, student, alum, or sub alum, about family. I’m glad you got to have that memory with your dad, and are passing it on with your kids.
Hello my Friend,
Though I’ve been many times I’m going to the Miami game this year with three friends, two of which have never been to ND. The other has been once. He and I went to the Pitt game (2010). I remember him saying as we left the game that day, “Wow, thanks. If you’re a college football fan, this is like going to Disneyland.”
When you tell people all of the pre-game things there are to see, it’s hard to quantify it all. It’s like the first time you go to a major league ball game. (on steroids) The sights, sounds, smells all added together to be topped off by the Greatest Football program in history playing that day. And you’re all part of it. You’re not just home watching it, YOU’RE PART OF IT. It’s awesome!
If you’ve never been, put it on your bucket list.
Totally agree tlndma. It’s an experience that is difficult to describe until you’ve been there. The friends that I went with on the trip always talk about that, it’s hard to share the experience with people because words just don’t do it justice.
I appreciate hearing this perspective from those of you who weren’t students. When I was there (and, coming from growing up in Florida), I also called it the “Disney World” experience, but in a negative way–by Friday afternoons (Wednesday if it was a big game) the place was crawling with “tourists” clogging up the sidewalks as I trudged to class. That sounds more negative than it really was, but heck, 18-19 year old kids gonna 18-19 year old kids. We laughed at the old alums in their kelly green & plaid golf pants, complained about the lines at the bookstore (seriously, why were we trying to go to the bookstore on a game weekend? plan ahead, dude), and generally grumbled about “all these people” who descended on “our” campus.
And yet, it also was weirdly exciting–you knew it was a big game coming up when “random” people who “didn’t belong” (ie, weren’t students) started showing up in numbers on a Wednesday afternoon. And you were proud as heck to help someone with directions to the Basilica, or to the JACC for the pep rally, so you could show off “your” campus. And who didn’t love when a group of alumni who had lived in your room 15 years ago decided to stop by and gift you a case of beer?
What you eventually realized was that the ND experience belongs to everyone, and we (as students) wouldn’t have it to enjoy if it weren’t for the alums who went before us, for the subway alums who made ND a national football power over the decades through their dedication, etc. Maybe that perspective only comes once you graduate and cross to the other side, I don’t know. But I love hearing these stories of the tingles people get on their visit they worked so hard to get to, their first or second or third trip. On the one hand, it reminds me of how lucky I was to have three years of that (was in Japan for one year). But even more, it reminds me that every game during those three years on campus, I had the same exact tingle down my spine. Every game. It never gets old, and I’m so glad we all get to share it.
Appreciate your perspective KG
Good to be around commenters I know and articles written by people I love reading. This definitely is better than Mild+ and can’t wait to get off work tonight and read some of the old articles from before I joined this morning.
Great to have you hear Zodiak!
here. not hear!
So its not good to hear??
Good point!!!!
Hear, hear!
Wait, what has a not good to hear?
I’ll tell you a story from the Pitt game 2010.
My buddy and I go over to watch the player walk. I’m carrying a plastic bag with about 6 Bud lights in it. I have an open one in my other hand.
When we get to the player walk I spot a group of people with #44 jerseys on. I tell my friend we need to cross and get near them. “Why?”, he asks. “That’s Carlo’s family. I’m sure.”, I respond.
We get over there and after a couple minutes I turn to the guy about my age and ask,”Are you Mr. Calabrese?
“Yes”
“Your sons a real good player”
“Thanks what’s your name”?
“Tom, I’m from Boston”
“Nice to meet you Tom, this is Mr. Motta.”
“Wow, Zeke’s Dad. Nice to meet you sir.”
Mr. Calabrese, “You know Tom, you can’t have alcohol on this part of campus.”
“I didn’t know that….would you like a beer?”
“Sure!”
“Would you like one Mr. Motta?”
“Why not.”
After that Mr. Calabrese and I had a nice chat. Later he called over Carlo and Zeke as they walked by to meet my friend and I. And then to cap it off called over Coach Diaco and introduced me as his friend Tom from Boston.
I’ve met other players and their family at games but, that was surely the most memorable time.
Ha so you got to drink with Carlo’s “people.” Pretty sure you’re a member of the mafia now.
that’s awesome! Love this story tlndma. Classic. Beer brings people together
Great stuff Larz. I’m with you 100%, you really did a great job capturing the spirit. I’ve told my wife before when she asks why I get so crazy about it, that it’s not really about the football – it is, but it isn’t. The football is really an excuse for all of us to come together and bond about this thing we love called Notre Dame.
For me, it hit me on my campus visit. My mother wanted me to have options, she said, so I was applying all over the place – I think in the end I had applied to 18 schools. Kind of crazy. Anyway, my original order was Michigan State, St. Bonaventure, Syracuse. My parents said, “Hey, why don’t you apply to Notre Dame?” And I thought, hey, what the heck, sure. We visited Michigan State and it cemented them as my #1; I wanted to be a physics major (which is what I started in at ND but not what I finished in, but that’s another story) and I was completely blown away by their program and their facilities. Boom, done.
Since we were relatively close to South Bend, though, we swung down to visit Notre Dame. From the second we turned onto Notre Dame Avenue, with the trees lining our path to the Golden Dome, it was over. I still can’t really explain it, but literally from that instant the campus felt like home and I knew that I would be spending the next four years there. I still get that feeling when I go back; there are new buildings, sure, and some stuff has changed, but it’s still home. It’s just… different. And when I watch these kids go out there and play their silly game, and freak out with all of you about it, it takes me back there just a little bit.
Thanks, guys.
Thanks Brendan,
A question for you, I wonder about this… I imagine to some degree when you hare on campus on a regular basis, does game day start to just become “normal” ? I could see the game day experience losing some of that wide eyed amazement when you’ve seen it a number of times
I’m not Brendan, but as a non-alum who has now been to 40 (!!) ND games at the stadium, I can vouch that it does become what you might call ‘routine’. The great thing about game days, though, and sports in general, is that there’s always something new and different to experience at each one if you look.
*construction noises*
New experience coming soon!
The Slippery Slope is gonna be AWESOME!!
Hmm… A good question. I think in some ways it does and in some ways it doesn’t. I’d say that the scope of what’s amazing narrows the more games you see, plus when you see a lot of games there are going to be some blowouts / bad opponents / bad losses in there that are, shall we say, not amazing. Beating Rutgers 62-0 my senior year was a considerably less magical experience than losing to Michigan 26-24 my freshman year, in my first-ever game, on Remy Hamilton’s last second WHY OH WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME RELIVE THIS?!?
Anyway… I went back for Michigan in 1998, USC in 1999, and Stanford in 2014 (yes, I went on a 15-year hiatus from campus – life got in the way), and each one was up to the excitement that I remembered, even despite the absolutely miserable weather for Stanford. Obviously it helped that each game was against a marquee rival, that each was a win, and that two of them were thrilling come-from-behind finishes.
But yeah, by game 20 in my student days, the concession tables on the quad were routine, as were dancing around the crowds at Hammes to get my toothpaste and dealing with all the visitors in the dining hall who had no idea where to go and kept slowing down the lines. Those are all the little things that you overlook when everything is fresh. There are always moments of magic, though, and the campus itself never loses its attraction.
I was also at the Stanford 2014 game. My Dad and I were literally at the very top row in the corner opposite TDJ and the press box. The weather was miserable. Cold, extremely windy at the top row, and the rain made it impossible to see out of my glasses. I don’t have contacts, so I was watching the majority of the game with my natural 20/80 vision. Still had a great time, though. The Golson-Koyack touchdown in the final minute was a blur, since it happened in literally the furthest spot on the field from where we were at. I only knew we scored because of the cheers.
That Stanford game is still the worst weather I’ve ever watched a game in. The ending made it entirely worth it, even though I couldn’t feel anything below my knees by that point.
We were there the same years (and heck, may have been dorm mates–weren’t you in Morrissey?) but yeah, pretty much agree. As I said above, in the moment there’s a whole lot of “gosh would these people just leave already”–the line about getting toothpaste in Hammes is exactly spot on.
Yeah, you roll out of bed at whatever time, hazy from the night before, to go through the usually pregame activities, but I guess when I think “routine” I think you lose that electricity. And I don’t think I’d ever not feel that tingle at the sound of the drum line, or hearing that annoying kid at the corner of the JACC shout “PROOOOOOOOOGGGGRRRRRAAAAAAMMMMMSSSS” as we head in for an over-crowded, unsafe by order of the fire inspector pep rally. So it’s hard for me to say anything is “routine,” as to me that implies a loss of excitement.
What’s fun, and what keeps it fresh is taking others for the first time. I’ve had the pleasure of taking my wife, who was already a fan, my kids, a good friend who is a fan, and another good friend who loves college football but isn’t an ND fan but who gained a ton of respect for the university and its tradition on the trip.
When your eyes get accustomed, look at it through others’.
Loved it Larz! Your sense of community perception really struck a chord… that’s exactly it in a nutshell. It was initially about football and winning but there is so much more when the layers are peeled back. Irish Pride!!
Thanks Greenore,
It was a fun one to write and even more enjoyable to experience it. Really was an amazing trip. It’s cliché, but Notre Dame is a very special place. It also helped to share it with an incredible group of friends. Pretty fortunate.
Perfect timing for me to read a post like this, I just bought tickets this weekend and made lodging arraignments to come up for my first game in South Bend. I’ve been to a few neutral site games but obviously nothing to compare to the experience of a home game. Literally can’t wait and now reading this makes me wish it was game day already, but I’ve got 3+ months to wait. Going to the Tech game with a good friend who’s a VT alum. Should be a great time.
That’s awesome. You’ll have a great time! Can’t wait to hear about it
Great story, thanks for sharing!
My first game at Notre Dame Stadium was in 2011, when the gal I was with at the time was in law school at ND and managed to get me season tickets in the student section. Still not entirely sure how she pulled it off. But that made the South Florida game my first one. This game. The one where they moved up the field in the opening drive, then offered up a fumble recovery inside the 5 that was returned for a touchdown. The one where they cleared the stadium mid-game due to a storm. The one where ND had 500 yards, USF had 250, but ND had 5 turnovers, USF had 0. The purple-faced Kelly game.
Even though it was a disappointing season with the 0-2 start, it was an incredible experience having those seasons tickets. I grew up in northwest Indiana and latched on to Notre Dame early. It took a while to get to a game, but I enjoy that that first one was certainly…unique.
The student section is a blast. In my brief experience in the stadium, they seemed to be the lifeblood of the entire venue. There is always something going on in the student section.
I was really lucky to be able to sit right behind the student section for all 6 home games in 2002. (Long story short, me and some buddies sold programs, and this was before they did much policing of program sellers, so we just plopped ourselves in a row behind the students.) They really are the heart of the stadium.
Yeah, the student section really was. It might have ruined me for attending sporting events – sitting with the grownups will just seem boring after that.
It’s been years since I’ve been to a game at the stadium (the NCG was my first game in over a decade, and I went to Navy last year here in DC), and it was probably because that was all shortly after I graduated, but I couldn’t stand sitting in a “normal” section. The student section had ruined me. I either got student tix through friends or had them “sneak” me in.
My first game was with my Papa the day after Halloween 1997. ND vs. Navy. My grandparents had season tickets at the time, but were getting along in years by then (Papa was 77, Nana was 72) and Nana didn’t want to go. She called my mom asking if I might be interested in going. I had just turned 11 and was obsessed with ND football (in this respect I guess I haven’t grown up). We had moved from South Carolina to Granger following my parents’ divorce and I didn’t really have any friends yet. As my mom (the only person I know who cares more about Irish football than me) retells the story, she sarcastically told my Nana that I wouldn’t be interested before quickly rousing me and letting me know I was going.
I don’t remember much of anything about the day, it being so long ago now. But I do know that I was in awe just about the entire time. Trying to beat the traffic, Papa ushered me out in the final minute with the game apparently in hand, and I was in the concourse when I heard the giant “OHHHH” that signaled something nuts had happened (I didn’t find out until later that Allen Rossum had had to go Superman to save the game). This is probably the genesis of my lifelong rule to never, ever, ever leave a sporting event early.
I’m a fan of several sports teams and several sports in general. But ND football was the only one that was passed to me by my family. I’m sure that’s why I care so much more about it than the others. Lou’s quote, paraphrased ‘if you know, no explanation necessary; if you don’t, no explanation sufficient’ is so, so apt. I’m lucky enough to know. And I largely have my Papa to thank for that.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to go to the stadium 39 more times since then, but I never went again with my Papa, who stopped going to games not long after that and eventually passed away after a long and awesome life in 2013. My son is due in the next 6 weeks and is inheriting his middle name. Someday I will take him to his first game. I absolutely cannot wait for the moment he sees it all for the first time.
Andy, that’s absolutely awesome. I love the thought of you passing this tradition down to your son.
Great stuff Andy! I remember that game well, that was my senior year. We were all like, “WTF? We don’t lose to Navy!” Little did we know… The Navy guys were pretty heated about the ending. In the post game, a few of them walked through our band while they were playing and clocked a bunch of people – basically just pretended there were no people between them and the tunnel and plowed through. A guy from my dorm got bloodied up by a forearm. He said the Irish Guard walked up to one of the Navy players and said something like, “We really don’t want to do this, but we will if we have to, so – get out of the band.”
Good times. Little did we know that we saw the beginning of the new normal with them.
Dang, I’d never heard that story. Would’ve been interesting to see that one play out in the social media age…
And that, among other things, was the genesis of my intense dislike of the worship the Academy kids get.
SO MUCH RESPECT
Great story, and a great way to carry on Papa’s name.
Also…may your son never see a loss to Navy.
Thanks for sharing Larz, I was also at that game. Since I am a Domer, grew up in Indiana (not to mention old!), I have been to countless games. It never gets ‘routine.’ If anything, the games I went to as a student were the ones I should have appreciated more. And the USC game is always extra special.
Thanks Hitman, it was a great game and yeah, USC is special
I started a tradition last year where I’m going to take one of my kids up for a game every season and then circle back around again. Partly as a way to justify to my spousal unit that I’m buying plane tix up to Chicago, getting a car, hotel, tickets, etc and partly to give my kids the experience that Larz and QTF(damn you onion cutter) have mentioned previously. My first son had a complete blast last year, getting to go on the ice for the hockey game against Northeastern and then the next day seeing the longest TD run in the history of ND stadium against Wake. Cant wait to get some tickets for this year(still not sure when i’ll do that).
That’s a great tradition Clearwall. I can’t wait to bring my kids to ND
Brendan: I know you’re busy with a long list of tweaks for this website, but if you ever get around to it, there has got to be a way to rec’d this article.
Larz: Thanks! Great article!
Thanks AttJ
Terrific article, Larz. It reflects all of the feelings I have as well.
I’m 20 and attend Nebraska. However, I became the diehard Notre Dame fan that I am in 2005 during Brady Quinn’s junior year. At first, I just thought their team was fun to watch and being a Catholic boy, it was easy to cheer for America’s Catholic team. When I was a freshman in high school, I got to visit Notre Dame for the first time. Somehow, my dad scored tickets in the second row, directly next to the tunnel. It was the Western Michigan game in 2010 and was a blowout. But still, being on campus for the first time changes the whole perspective of the university, the football team, and football in general.
The whole aura of “Notre Dame football” became something that is unmatched in my life thus far. Unfortunately I have no true connection to the school. I didn’t get to go there and haven’t had any relatives go there. But its a community that I feel a part of. Nebraska is known for having one of the greatest fanbases in the nation, and they definitely do. But the feeling on gameday is not the same. There’s so much that surrounds Notre Dame football. It is something that is unparalleled. It’s a real, true, inner experience.
Jaden, ND was built on fans like you, whose only “connection” many times was wanting to root for a Catholic school who was good at football. Welcome to the family. A few years ago I went with some friends to a Georgia-Tennessee game in Athens, and it was a blast, I won’t lie. But it’s just a totally different gameday experience, and not nearly as special as ours, to me, at least.
Thanks Jaden!
BTW, Larz what did you say to Kelly’s bodyguard??
My wife said the same thing. Lol. I told him give me two weeks and we’ll have the defense sorted out and don’t act like you don’t know who I am. 🙂
(Long-time reader/lurker from OFD, first time poster)
This post drew me out of the woodwork because I’m ‘just’ a football fan – from Canuckistan, no less – with no particular attachment to the university itself (though maybe a friend of a friend attending for post-grad study counts? 😉 ). While I enjoy reading about the team and have continued to appreciate the school’s stance on education, faith and trying to uphold the student portion of student-athlete, reading a blog like this occasionally feels like peering in through a window at someone else’s party. (Minus the creepy part, of course) Anyway, here goes…
My first recollection of watching the Irish was that year’s Game of the Century: the legendary ND-FSU, No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup replete with NBC’s gauzy shots of the Indiana countryside, a Bob Costas voiceover and the theme from “Rudy”. I hadn’t previously watched much college ball but I was hooked: fight songs, bands, Traditions… (I guess I like a little feeling with my sports – I blame growing up on a steady diet of futbol) I’ve caught nearly every game since, though as a near-lifer on the west coast , that’s been limited to TV viewing only. Catching a home game in-person is very near the top of a couple lists, though I haven’t yet come up with a suitable scheme for making the trip… one day, though.
Welcome! Post more!
You hit the nail on the head as why college football of any kind is better than the NFL. The NFL is such a sterile experience, and don’t get attached or that player/coach/heck, even team you like is going to move to another city.
(takes bag off head)
I grew up as a Niners fan during the 80s and 90s, but the game (to say nothing of the team) has changed and not entirely for the better IMHO. The NFL seems easily the most ‘mercenary’ of the big leagues… The Niners’ general mediocrity over the past decade+ hasn’t been all bad, though – I watch way more college ball now and find the NFL less and less interesting.
(puts bag back on)
Welcome and enjoy yours stay man.
Welcome! And thanks for sharing. I totally agree on the bands, tradition and atmosphere in college football.
Larz, great post and great comments all around. I genuinely enjoyed reading all of that! I think I wrote about my first ND home game back when I was still writing at OFD. I can’t remember now to be honest. It was awesome though. I had been a huge fan for years but that experience took my appreciation for everything that Notre Dame is to a completely different level. If you didn’t really feel like you were part of it before being there you definitely feel like you are part of it when you leave. That feeling never goes away.
Thanks Whiskey, it is cool to feel a part of it
I became an Irish fan thanks to my dad. When he was attending Tufts Medical, his roommate was from Goshen, Indiana and he talked my dad into taking the train, in September, to see the Irish play and for the next 3 years it became their annual trip. After graduation they kept in touch and Dr. Joe, that was what I later called him after I was born, would come east for the big Army/ND games in the 40’s at Yankee Stadium and my dad would meet him in NYC and they would stay with my dad’s parents. I was born in 1940 and when I was like 5…6 or so I would hear my dad talk about the Irish. Back then one channel of TV, no internet of course, no sports publications so to speak. Dr. Joe would send my dad all kinds of info about the Irish, pictures and articles. Then it happened, I think it was in October or November of 1952, the Irish were going to play on TV for the first time ever…wow…..I never saw my dad so excited, and his excitement for me to actually see them play….it was like a holiday at the Rubin household…my mom made chili, my first football food, dad and I watched the Irish beat OU and after the game, he said its about time I go see my first Irish game in South Bend and that we would make plans for next season with Dr. Joe and his children. My dad passed away the next April, and I will forever be grateful that I had at least that one opportunity to watch the Irish with my dad. That fall of 1952 was my introduction to ND football thanks to my dad, and I became a lifetime ND fan and have watched every game that they have been on televison since then, less then ones I attended in person
Man I’ve been told so many times to never read the comments, but wow, some incredible stories down here on this article. Thanks for sharing everybody.
Most places, don’t ever read the comments.
With this crowd, if you don’t read the comments, you’re missing most of the fun. Great articles, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the conversational aspect that makes it more than just an Irish news site.
agreed KG
Thanks for this Bill
Great story about the USC game, Larz. I was at the game as well. Those of you who were there remember that it was actually pretty chilly. It didn’t matter. After the game, my friend and I stayed in our seats long after the game had ended, the teams had left the field, and the band finally quit playing. I just wanted to keep looking at the scoreboard. My parents were WWII refugees from eastern Europe (they came over in ’49, and I was born in ’52). They really didn’t know anything about American football (my father loved hockey and soccer). However, in the 60’s there was still a good bit of anti-Catholic prejudice (Kennedy getting elected was as almost as revolutionary as Obama getting elected – not trying to be political, just stating the reality of it). What I grew up loving about Notre Dame (as a young Catholic kid in the Midwest with awkward parents that didn’t fit in) was the attitude of playing fair, playing hard, and backing down to no one, especially people who were anti-Catholic. I remember being heartbroken when Southern Cal “beat” Notre Dame in Ara’s first year (I listened to the game on the radio, and didn’t know how badly they’d been screwed until later, since the game wasn’t on TV). I watched the 10-10 tie on TV, and though most people criticize Ara for playing for the tie at the end, people have forgotten that we were playing essentially with a substitute backfield due to injury, which undoubtedly influenced Ara’s decision. I celebrated when we destroyed Southern Cal the next week to win the NC. I never thought I’d have the academic credentials to get into ND and was all set to go to another school, but did apply to Notre Dame. One day, at my high school, the school nurse who was friends with my parents hunted me down in the cafeteria. In front of a table of my friends (with adjacent tables listening in), she said; “your mother called. You’ve been accepted to Notre Dame.” The rest of the day, I walked on air, and a good bit of the high school was buzzing about the fact that I got in. Along with getting married, and finding out I passed the bar examination, it was one of the biggest thrills of my life. Although I wasn’t the most diligent student while there, the place permeated me with its values and influenced a legal career in which I spent my first ten years as a Legal Aid attorney (best job I’ve ever had), and then, in these latter 28 years, my values of serving the client and my community have kept me from going astray. This doesn’t happen without the Notre Dame experience. I am retiring at the end of this year with the feeling that, despite many mistakes, I am leaving things slightly better than I found them, and I can’t ask for more. As for the game day experience… Read more »
Outstanding Cubsfan, I really enjoy reading everyone’s perspectives. And congratulations on the upcoming retirement!
Hey Cubsfan, you’re not so old! I calculate 64 or 65? You’re into the dessert years after all that hard work, buddy.
I had a similar experience, Midwest Italian immigrant family, my dad would play the ND games every weekend and we’d listen together. This was the Leahy days, and they darn near always won. I never anted to go anywhere else and was blown away when I was accepted. The campus was a fraction of what it is now. My freshman year we were the first to be in Farley, it was brand new, and the library was just being built.
i have to say, the winters were miserable, but football Saturday’s were magic, even though the first two years were Kuharich and Devore. Then came Ara. It was a lesson to me that’s stayed with me, reinforced by my time n the Marines during Nam. Great leadership makes all the difference in the world.
I’m soooooo glad I rediscovered you guys, now that you moved, the best ND site team there is, and the best community on the ‘net.
[…] by Larz’s tremendous piece a few weeks ago and as anticipation builds for the 2016 opener, I’ve been thinking a lot lately […]