Notre Dame Game

Allan and I were offered Princess Peg's Notre Dame tickets this weekend and we decided to jump at the opportunity to go.  While the girls stayed with Honey and Grandpa, Allan and I took our first solo road trip in over 8 years! We started out a little after 6 am so we could be sure to get on campus to see the pre-game festivities.  Thankfully, we had had dinner with Ken and Kathy the night before, so Ken filled us in on all of the important things we needed to know about parking, the shuttle, what to see, and where to eat.  We were blessed with the best football weather we could ask for - full sun and upper 50's!  I think the weather just added to the perfection of the day.

As soon as the shuttle dropped us off by the library, we saw the traditional team walk throughout the main part of campus.  I believe they just finished with mass and were walking toward the stadium.

Of course, we took some time to see Touchdown Jesus (on the library), the golden dome of the basilica, and the amazing, insanely crowded two-story Hammes Bookstore.  We did not make it to the grotto.  I love that all of the different clubs had tents set up selling burgers, brats, and hot dogs.  Allan and I sat and enjoyed our food while we people-watched.  We also saw the band walk from the steps of the basilica to the stadium.

These boys were raising money for the water polo team.

Allan got a picture by the Lou Holtz statue before entering the stadium.

Our first impression of the stadium was that it was smaller than we thought it would be, but in a good way.  Our seats were fantastic, we could see all of the action, including several touchdowns right in front of us!  The other aspect that were surprised about was that everything in the stadium seemed original, from the wooden plank bleachers to the non-high-tech scoreboard, to the bathrooms.  I assumed that everything in the stadium would be state-of-the-art, but upon experiencing the crowd and the traditions that were upheld, I came to the conclusion that if anything were to be changed about the stadium, the fans would revolt!  We were so impressed by the amount of ceremony and tradition that took place during the game, from the players kneeling in prayer before the game, to the push-ups in the crowd for every point scored, to the "GOOOOO IRISH" every time the ball was punted, to Fighting Irish "arm dance", to the players gathering at the end of the field to sing the school song at the end of the game.  I don't think the students or the band sat down at all.  Allan's Uncle Don described a Notre Dame football fame as a "religious experience" and I totally get it!  

Notre Dame has the oldest marching band of any university and it is also the largest I have ever seen!

The NBC commentators' tent was right by us.  I watched Doug Flutie almost as much as I watched the game!

I love that you can see Touchdown Jesus peeking up over the edge of the stadium.

Leprechaun mascot

Players kneeling in prayer.

Touchdown!

Cheerleaders doing push-ups

Crowd push-ups

That was a nail-biter!

Not sure if they light up the mural after every game, or just for a win.

The game was long, almost 4 hours, partly because it was televised so they had to stop for a lot of TV timeouts.  Allan and I managed to find a short shuttle line and got back to our car pretty quickly.  Then we drove about an hour west to our hotel in Hammond, IN.  That way our trip home would be shorter the next day.  We ate dinner at a really good Italian restaurant, Cafe Borgia, and went back to the hotel to watch the Cardinals play-off game.  The next morning, we left the hotel by 9 am, made a stop at the Tuscola Outlet Mall, and were home by 3:30 pm.  All-in-all it was a perfect trip and we are definitely going to ask Peg to add us to the list of people she offers her unused tickets to!