Luck of the Irish

Hit the sign, then hit the field!  Go Irish!
 

"Maybe someday I could go to Notre Dame"
                 ~ Daniel Ruettiger from the movie "Rudy".

Growing up in Lansing, Michigan I was fortunate that my parents had season tickets to MSU football and I had the chance to enjoy the pagentry, fun and excitement of all that college football entails. Of course that meant that I grew up a Spartan and still have green blood in me.  However when I was kid in the late 70's and early 80's MSU football was really........not good.  But we still went to the games, still cheered wildly and also hoped(but rarely witnessed) for a victory over the dreaded Wolverines.  My hate for them started young and still holds strong.  Because of MSU's inability to beat scUM, I also had an affinity for Notre Dame.  Only a few hours down the road, the Irish may not have beaten scUM all the time, but every year they potentially could, something MSU struggled with at that time.  Also being a Catholic and the Notre Dame games being on TV every week, I enjoyed watching and following them as well.

Tradition is what separates college football from most other sports and the passion for which fans get involved.  Right or wrong, over the top or ridiculous, it all makes for fun times at games and I love football.  Notre Dame has as much, or more, tradition than most and I have always wanted to attend a game there, but not just any game, a big game.  I had hoped to fly back and see them play scUM this season, but unfortunately that didn't work out.  However, I had the great fortune of getting an opportunity last week to attend my first Irish game in person as they took on Stanford and have the experience of a lifetime, all thanks to my friend Mike.

Touchdown Jesus looms over Notre Dame Stadium, it's an awesome sight!

I flew into Chicago on Friday, then immediately drove to South Bend, IN about 2 hours away.  Coming from the nice weather in Scottsdale, I knew I'd be in for some colder temps back in the Midwest and on top of that it was going to be rainy all weekend.  But that was not going to dampen my spirits.  As I pulled onto the Notre Dame campus, I met up with Mike and we went to the Friday night pep rally, a tradition that still is strong at Notre Dame as thousands of people show up.  As a kid I remember going to MSU pep rally's the night before gameday, but sadly those disappeared long ago, but ND not only still does them, they make it a big event and fun for everyone.  Cheerleaders, Irish dancing, DJ spinning music, all lead up to the football team and Coach Brian Kelly taking the stage to a raucous, 5K or so that filled the Arena.  I love Coach Kelly because of what he did for my alma mater, CMU, and for his no nonsense attitude and approach.  He spoke with candor and determination before having a few of the players speak and get everyone fired up for the game.  It was a lot of fun and certainly got me excited for gameday.  Before I even made it to South Bend, Mike had sent me a list of all the activities going on at ND for the weekend and asked me to let him know what I may like to do.  There was a tour of the tunnel in the stadium, but I had gotten into town too late to do that, which turned out just fine as Mike said to me, "I think we can do a little better than the tunnel tour".

Irish RB Tyler Plantz fires up the crowd by breaking boards over his head.

And with that statement from Mike, the real fun began.  Mike is a ND Monogram Club member so we got to go the Club Lounge adjacent to the Locker Room for a special reception where all former ND letterwinners are welcomed back on game weekends to mix and mingle and relive their own glory days.  This weekened they were also honoring the 1964 Notre Dame team with many of them in attendance including legendary Coach Ara Parseghian.  If you follow college football even a shred, you know that Ara is not only beloved by the ND faithful, but he truly is a college football icon.  It was an honor to meet him and talk to him for a bit as well.  Again, I LOVE college football and I am a bit of a historian and for me this was beyond awesome.  Besides that, we also got a private tour of the lockerroom and got to do the infamous walk down the stairs leading to the stadium where the "Play Like A Champion" sign has been for years, just like the players do every game.  We then got to go onto the field.  This was truly way beyond anything I expected or even anticipated about this weekend.



"Coach Parseghian, in the '66 game with MSU, why did you....."

Inside the Locker Room feeling ready to suit up myself for gameday!

On the field, feeling the Luck 'O the Irish!

After a very short night's sleep we got up early to get our tailgate set up.  Mike has a very thorough plan for tailgating and with his SUV loaded for bear, we got to our lot in the Notre Dame Library and prepared to set up our tents, the grill and everything else.  He had a number of other friends in town for the game and probably all told, there was about 50 people there.  The weather was not very good, low 40's, spitting of rain and the occasional snow, mind you it's only October 4th!  A not so gentle reminder of why I moved to Arizona.  But with a ton of food and drinks and people and other tailgates all around, the atmosphere was incredibly festive and fun.  Tailgating does not even come close to this in Arizona or in Seattle, no matter what people from there might tell you.  They really just don't know any better.  Football just means more in the midwest and in the south, right or wrong, that's just the way it is and football Saturdays are sacred.

Setting up the tailgate with Mike despite inclement and windy conditions.  One of the tents actually blew across the street.

I had been on the Notre Dame campus many times in my life, but I had never had the chance to go to a football game because the tickets are impossible to get unless you know someone or are willing to pay a ton through a scalper.  Tickets for the ND-UM games just a few weeks ago were scalping for over $1000.  Insane.  However, the campus is stunningly beautiful and in the fall with the color change it was almost ideal, only the weather was holding it back from perfection.  But I still took my time to tour the campus and soak it all in including stops at the infamous Grotto, the Basilica(which inside may be the most beautiful church I've ever seen), the golden dome,  and of course the bookstore.  With so many people on campus it was lively and energetic and everyone was excited for the game.  After consuming way too much food, no regrets though, it was finally time to head into the stadium for the game itself.  The whole trip had been so incredible so far and the game hadn't even started, which was really the main reason I went.  Could it really get even better?

The Golden Dome of the Administration building, it can be seen from across campus.

The infamous ND Grotto.  I only know one other grotto, anyone that wants to take me there, I'm in.

The Basilica.  Incredibly beautiful inside, worth a visit.

Up to this point the weather had been cold and spitting rain and not great, but sadly, once the game started it really started to rain and it either got colder or just felt that way.  The conditions were not good and it limited the play of the game as well.  Stanford is known for a strong defense and it showed on this day as they limited the Irish to minimal offense. However the Notre Dame defense was even better only allowing points after an Irish fumble.  The game went back and forth late into the fourth quarter when Stanford mounted their only real drive of the game and ultimately scored a touchdown, taking the lead 14-10 with only 3 minutes left in the game.  The crowd got restless, as the weather and rain made it seem almost impossible that Notre Dame could drive and score in enough time.  As the Irish took the field, QB Everett Golson proceeded to march the team downfield, despite some dropped passes, before the drive came to a halt at the 23 yard line with ND facing a 4th and 11 with only a minute left.  This was it, the game was now on the line.  After a ND timeout, the team came back out on the field.  Clearly a pass play was needed and of course having the ball in Golson's hands was the only option to either throw or run.  As he took the snap the Stanford D brought pressure up the middle forcing Golson to move to his left and on the run he sailed the ball into the endzone.  Sitting in the stands it seemed like the ball was in the air forever before it ultimately hit ND TE Ben Koyack in the hands in the endzone as he straddled the out of bounds line for a touchdown.  The stadium went nuts as ND regained the lead 17-14.  With less than a minute left, ND kicked off and Stanford had little option but to throw downfield.  Knowing this ND made what I feel is the decision of a team trying to win the game, rather than just not trying to lose it, as they brought a "Jailbreak Blitz" ultimately sacking the Stanford QB.  Rather than sit back in a prevent defense, they brought the house and the sack literally brought that house down as the game ended and all of us fans went crazy!  It was an unbelievable finish.

Here come the Irish!

After the final sack, GAME OVER!

The weather played havoc with my phone camera, but there is the final result for all to see!

Game over, trip over.....not quite.  Again, my own Luck of the Irish would continue.  We first went to the Athletic Convocation Center where they have a special postgame mass for those in the Monogram Club before heading back to the tailgate for another hour or so.  After going back to Mike's house and drying off and warming up, we then had the opportunity to go back to the stadium for another private tour before heading to the local postgame hotspot The Linebacker Lounge.  The next morning, I drove back to Chicago to the conference that brought me to the midwest in the first place.  As I drove the two hours back, it was hard to even digest all that had just happened.  I truly have wanted to attend a Notre Dame football game for as long as I can remember and to think I not only was able to, but to have the full-on experience, if you will, how lucky am I?!?!?!  None of it would have been possible without Mike and I thanked him profusely, but I really never could do so enough.  I have a passion for football and college imparticular.  As I try to explain my passion to others it has always come down to this for me; for 3 hours or so where else can you feel such immense highs, lows, tears, cheers, excitement, vitriol, hate, love and raw emotion.  Maybe I am not emotive enough on a regular basis, I don't know, but I do know on Saturdays, when my teams are playing, I can experience a whole world of emotion and life all wrapped up into one.  Crazy, silly; maybe, but it works for me and I love it!  I did get to go to Notre Dame and the whole experience was off the charts!  It was far more than anything I could have hoped for and only left me wanting to do it all again. 

Maybe someday I could work for Notre Dame....hmmmm.  Thanks again Mike!  Go Irish!

Mike and I after the game, soaked and cold, but oh so happy!  Fire Up Irish!