The Notre Dame Experience.

Terry O'Keefe · Sep 5, 2007

This guy is a Longhorn blogger, he was at the Ga.Tech game and wrote this about his experience. I haven't been to the Hive (Ga.Tech) but the reports are that Ga.Tech fans not only thoroughly enjoyed the whupping they put on the Irish but they also totally enjoyed their Notre Dame experience. I'm thinking we are just way to nice and that we need and Krebs needs to come to a game and bring some of da boyz to knock some heads!!

Submitted by Adam on Tue, 2007-09-04 03:40.

by Adam Jones

The Knights of Columbus can flat out make a steak sandwich. The smell wafting from the KOC grill amidst the wash of bagpipes and drums honoring the Gaelic muse on a perfect late summer game day on a university quad was a sensory delight that came achingly close to converting me to Notre Dame fandom, if not Catholicism altogether. I pondered this constitutional moment of the tenuous separation of church and football before reminding myself that my lifelong disdain for the Fighting Irish was rooted in their annoying belief that this university—their university—was God’s gift to college football. Problem is, beneath the golden dome and the mosaic of Jesus indicating six for the home team, I started to believe that maybe the University of Notre Dame was God’s gift to college football. It’s hard to argue that this place isn’t exactly what the Lord had in mind on Saturdays in America. Where my heart held no place for Notre Dame before today now there resides a small kernel of admiration and even love. It should come somewhat naturally; my mother was a Killian for God’s sake. But complete conversion simply isn’t in the cards. Sanity prevailed despite the best efforts of the pipe and drum corps and the Knights of Columbus. I returned safely to my Wesleyan spiritual home and my loving allegiance to Texas (the state, the university, the football team—not necessarily in that order).

Putting rooting interests aside, a Saturday spent in South Bend, Indiana is one for a lifetime. It is now so embedded in my brain that this day will never be betrayed by the limitations of an aging memory. This team our nation both loves to love and loves to hate binds us all for better or for worse. We are them and they are us. We have created this culture together. At our essence, college football fans are all just folks who love our own guys. You cannot break the powerful connection between the 80-year-old retired accountant in section 21 and the 20-year-old cornerback playing before him on their hallowed field. You wouldn’t want to.

Not in victory.

And not in defeat.

Georgia Tech 33, Notre Dame 3

…but even as they put aside their disappointment and walk across to post-game mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, there is always a silver lining. God is good to Notre Dame. And he certainly works in mysterious ways.

Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32

The announcement of Appalachian State’s upset brought by far the biggest roar from the Notre Dame crowd on Saturday. No love lost between the Irish and the Wolverines and the ND faithful didn’t have much to cheer on the gridiron in front of them. While it is a monstrous upset to be sure, the more I think about it the less surprised I am. I never thought Michigan was that complete of a football team and left them out of my own top ten entirely. Further, ESPN’s annoying habit of proclaiming the most recent event of the day as “the greatest upset in college football history” lacks nuance and historical perspective, which is standard operating procedure for ESPN. Over the last three years, better Wolverine squads than this have played uninspired football against overmatched opponents. Check the record: Vanderbilt, Northern Illinois and a particularly bad San Diego State squad all came to the Big House and made life miserable for the unprepared Wolverines over the last three years. Michigan’s talent won out in each case. Appalachian State, arguably better than the three teams I just listed, jumped out early and had just enough to hang on. The difference, of course, is that Appalachian State is not a Division I squad, but a I-AA team. The Mountaineers, of course, are the two-time defending national champs in I-AA, which is no solace to Michigan. Should Michigan ever lose a game to a I-AA opponent? Hell no. But Michigan was never as good as their pre-season ranking and they are also probably not as bad as this game score indicates.

As for Notre Dame, the general consensus seems to suggest that the Irish desperately need a quarterback. Not so. The Irish have at least one competent QB and maybe two or three. Being up close with the Irish and trusting my own lying eyes leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the Irish simply do not have enough good football players, especially along an offensive line that could no more handle Georgia Tech’s front seven than John Daly could handle a formula one race car. The Irish are neither badly-quarterbacked, nor badly-coached. They are just bad.
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Sid · Sep 5, 2007

Thanks, Terry. It's good to read this kind of testimony once in a while to be reminded what a special place it is. The writer did a good job of blending in his own view of the world with the uniqueness of the experience. It is a very entertaining piece.

gipper · Sep 5, 2007

Someone on the IE board posted a link to the GT board with comments by those that went to the game. Amazing how much they enjoyed their trip. I'm sure that the outcome didn't hurt but they really appreciated the hospitality before, during and after the game.

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The Notre Dame Experience.

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