Today & Tomorrow Day: Notre Dame Game

Last weekend Jeff and I went to South Bend with two of our couple-buddies to see the Notre Dame vs. Western Michigan game. Our friends have been to a game before and were both excited to initiate us into all the pomp & circumstance a football game at Notre Dame has to offer. Having planned this trip over six months ago, we were all looking forward to having a day away from home and enjoying, what turned out to be, a fabulous day to watch a football game.

We had a tight schedule to follow--scripted, really. A co-worker who happens to be a former ND centinenial basketball player and former president of the Monogram Club got us great seats (right on the 50 yard line) and very specific details of when to be at what point on campus--and what a beautiful campus it is. We started the morning by fighting the LARGEST crowd in the LARGEST college bookstore I have ever seen in order to buy sweatshirts and several "the shirts".

Next, we walked around looking for the porkchop sandwiches that were a "must eat" on our supplied agenda. Amy and I opted to instead try a fraternity grilled hotdog (it was only 10:30 in the morning IL time!). We quickly ate our foil wrapped lunches on the steps of a dorm (also an instruction, as this is where our co-worker lived) and moved along to get in line to see the football players leave church. This was actually pretty neat--even for someone like me who has NO IDEA who those guys were. As an amature fashion critic I had fun just looking at the suits these guys had on--some were very interesting! Anyway, this is obviously a huge part of "doing" a Notre Dame football game--hundreds of fans made a pathway for the players to walk through and to catch a glimpse (or even a high five) from their favorite players.

We then spent some time walking around campus. We saw the Grotto and walked along a pond, where we had a few picture ops--see the guys in the tree? Next on our list was to see the marching band warm up and then it was on to see the trumpets play under the Golden Dome. This was, in my opinion, one of the coolest parts of the ND campus tour/pre-game festivities. I wasn't sure about it at first...you have to stake a claim in this little space and stand there for at least half an hour. I am not patient and I don't like being touched, especially by random people, so this was a little questionable for me. I was not disappointed though--it was so worth the wait. All the trumpet players line two of the three balconies above the dome and then play "Notre Dame Our Mother" and the "Notre Dame Victory March". It really was neat--even though I was ticked at the people who splayed themselves across the floor to "save a space", it was worth it. You can see a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZkO0WVXhUQ (I recorded it, but alas...can't figure out how to download it."

After this we headed to the game. I am not going to pretend that I know much about football (how is this possible when I spend at least five nights of my life each year at a game??), but the vibe at ND's stadium is very awesome. Maybe it's because you are intimately close to those sitting next to you/in back of you/in front of you or because the fan section is so "fan-like", but whatever the reason, I actually enjoyed it. Granted, I was about ready to fall asleep by this point, but that's okay. We sat in back of "super fans" whose life long goal was to be in the marching band and who insisted there were only 2,000 undergrads at ND. No worries--the super football fan next to them set them straight!

Wrapping up the day, we went over to the athletic center to see our co-workers awards (and because the boys HAD to go there). After losing the boys, we discovered they had been playing on the basketball court--they were like five year olds at Chukee Cheese! Pictures are below.

All in all, it was a great trip and one I think we all look forward to doing again. These pictures were taken by Chris--enjoy!