I got great ND news this week

[Polish Leppy 22]

Although a lifetime ND fan (only 22 years old) I have never been to a ND game of any kind. Tomorrow will be my first. I will be attending the ND vs Nova bball game at Wachovia. My Dad's best friend has Nova season tickets and invited me and my Dad. He knows I'm a ND nut.

Icing on the cake: My family has a long-dated connection to assistant coach Sean Carney. His father and my grandfather were from the same area and served togther in WWII. Our families have kept in touch ever since. My dad called Carney earlier this week, told him we would be at the game, and he told Carney I follow ND sports and recruiting. Carney told us to yell for him during warm ups so we could meet each other. Carney also gave my dad his cell number and relayed the message to me to call him whenever I want.

Good thing Modell's had that blowout clearance last week. Plenty of ND gear to wear. I don't know if any of you guys get ESPN full court but I'll be the little white guy wearing either an Irish green Clausen or blue Zbikowski jersey fighting with all the punks from Villa no fun.

 

[Granger Irish]

Awesome! Don't be afraid to scream your lungs out for the Irish.

By the way, it is Sean Kearney, not Carney. lol

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Thanks for the correction, Granger. I have two friends with that last name. One spells Carney, the other Kearney.

Does the ND band travel for bball games too? I get goosebumps hearing it on TV. Would love to hear it live.

 

[Granger Irish]

Polish Leppy:

I hope you were not offended by my spelling of Kearney comment. I definitely meant no offense by it.

As far as the band, I am not sure. If anyone out there knows if the band ever travels to basketball games, please let him know.

For everyone else, you can watch the game, if you can't get it on tv, on ESPN360.com. I watched the Georgetown game on there last saturday and it was of a very good picture quality. The game time is at noon est.

 

[quiksilver253]

hahaha man i'm driving down tomorrow too, since nova lost to the worst team in the big east this week i think they're especially vulnerable...lets hope we pull out the W

 

[KamaraPolice]

Have a blast!

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Quicksilver keep an eye out for me. I promise I'll be wearing a green Clausen or blue Zibby jersey.

I see the game a bit differently than you do. I see ND coming off two 20+ point losses to ranked teams recently. And a really pissed off Nova team looking to take their anger out on the Irish at the Wachovia after a loss to Rutgers. When I first saw that score the other night I thought Nova's men had to have played playing Rutgers' women.

Hopefully I'm wrong...in any case GO IRISH

 

[Win4Gipper]

have a good time....gotta love seeing the Irish for the first time

 

[mlcspinner]

lucky dog Have a GREAT time

 

[IrishRamMan10]

nice man thats awesome... GO IRISH!

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Have a great time. Is Kearney originally from Scranton, PA?

 

[mbooch]

Although a lifetime ND fan (only 22 years old) I have never been to a ND game of any kind. Tomorrow will be my first. I will be attending the ND vs Nova bball game at Wachovia. My Dad's best friend has Nova season tickets and invited me and my Dad. He knows I'm a ND nut.

Icing on the cake: My family has a long-dated connection to assistant coach Sean Carney. His father and my grandfather were from the same area and served togther in WWII. Our families have kept in touch ever since. My dad called Carney earlier this week, told him we would be at the game, and he told Carney I follow ND sports and recruiting. Carney told us to yell for him during warm ups so we could meet each other. Carney also gave my dad his cell number and relayed the message to me to call him whenever I want.

Good thing Modell's had that blowout clearance last week. Plenty of ND gear to wear. I don't know if any of you guys get ESPN full court but I'll be the little white guy wearing either an Irish green Clausen or blue Zbikowski jersey fighting with all the punks from Villa no fun.

HAve ball! And, if you think of it, down a cheesesteak for me, OK?

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

I promise all I will enjoy myself. And if we get cheesesteaks they will be Geno's...so much better than Pat's

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

Although a lifetime ND fan (only 22 years old) I have never been to a ND game of any kind. Tomorrow will be my first. I will be attending the ND vs Nova bball game at Wachovia. My Dad's best friend has Nova season tickets and invited me and my Dad. He knows I'm a ND nut.

Have a great time. GO IRISH!!!

 

[quiksilver253]

Now that was a fun time..I bought tickets in the nosebleeds behind the basket for 25$ and then me my friend and our dads went down and sat down 6 rows behind ND's bench and 4 behind McAlarney's mom. Luckily for us the people who had those seats never showed and we got to watch an awesome game. well worth the hour and a half long drive

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

I feel obliged to tell you all about my experience at the game today. By far the best I've ever had at a sporting event.

11:00: Doors open...we go right down to the 1st row to meet up with Kearney. He hops over, introductions are done, and we chat for 5-10 minutes. Great guy. Later we meet up with his brother, who grew up in the same town and was friends with my Dad.

12:00: Our seats are up in the nosebleeds. We say screw that. The three of us sit in the second row behind ND's bench. No one comes to claim them. We are happy. Place is packed. Hundreds of Nova fans in two student sections behind each basket. The guy sitting to my right is a Nova fan. We will later exchange words.

12:45: The Nova student section does not like me very much. The only ND fans in the area are families of ND players/coachs behind the bench and the three of us. I am ND's student section. And I am heavily outnumbered. Somewhere around this time either Kurz or #33 throws down a nasty dunk that should be on Sportscenter's Top 10 tonight

Halftime: We meet up and chat with Kearney's brother and share old family stories.

2:00: The game is finally decided. Kyle has 30 points, Luke has 25, 30 seconds to go and the game is over. The Nova fan sitting next to me waits for it to get quiet before yelling, "Your football team still sucks!" Without missing a beat one of the ND player's dads yells, "Yeah let's talk about Villanova football!" Sarcastically I remind the idiot that this is a basketball game, Nova plays 1-AA football, and unless it's App State or Delaware they are irrelevant. He leaves.

My dad's best friend who is with us sees a woman in the row in front of us trying to get rid of two blue small pieces of paper. We don't know what they are for. When the buzzer sounds he asks her what she's trying to get rid of. She says she is with one of ND's assistant coaches and doesn't need them. He happily accepts them.

2:30: We get on an elevator and find our way to club box 22...reserved for ND families of coaches and players. Again we meet up with the Kearneys. I realize that Kurz is really tall. Harangody is a beast. I'm 5'7" and McAlarney isn't too much taller than I am.

2:45: I congratulate Mrs. McAlarney on the win. She is very welcoming and appreciative. And funny to watch during the game. I ask to take a picture with her. She is pleasantly surprised and complies.

3:00: After letting Kyle speak with his family for about 20 minutes I congratulate him too. I note that I didn't realize on TV how quick he was until I saw him in person. Real nice guy. Big smile on his face, good solid handshake, spoke with me for about ten minutes, was very thankful for the support. I tell him the only thing I missed was the ND band and the fight song. He smiles and tells me to come to South Bend.

3:15: The three of us say our goodbyes and head out. What a day. Sit 2 rows behind the bench, watch a win, and get to the club box with a few players.

GO IRISH

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

quicksilver you gotta be kiddin me. great minds think alike

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Nice leppy. Also is kearney from Scranton, PA. Just wondering.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Yeah his entire family is from Scranton, as is the whole side of my mom's family

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

Sounds like an awesome experience!!!

 

[mlcspinner]

I feel obliged to tell you all about my experience at the game today. By far the best I've ever had at a sporting event.

11:00: Doors open...we go right down to the 1st row to meet up with Kearney. He hops over, introductions are done, and we chat for 5-10 minutes. Great guy. Later we meet up with his brother, who grew up in the same town and was friends with my Dad.

12:00: Our seats are up in the nosebleeds. We say screw that. The three of us sit in the second row behind ND's bench. No one comes to claim them. We are happy. Place is packed. Hundreds of Nova fans in two student sections behind each basket. The guy sitting to my right is a Nova fan. We will later exchange words.

12:45: The Nova student section does not like me very much. The only ND fans in the area are families of ND players/coachs behind the bench and the three of us. I am ND's student section. And I am heavily outnumbered. Somewhere around this time either Kurz or #33 throws down a nasty dunk that should be on Sportscenter's Top 10 tonight

Halftime: We meet up and chat with Kearney's brother and share old family stories.

2:00: The game is finally decided. Kyle has 30 points, Luke has 25, 30 seconds to go and the game is over. The Nova fan sitting next to me waits for it to get quiet before yelling, "Your football team still sucks!" Without missing a beat one of the ND player's dads yells, "Yeah let's talk about Villanova football!" Sarcastically I remind the idiot that this is a basketball game, Nova plays 1-AA football, and unless it's App State or Delaware they are irrelevant. He leaves.

My dad's best friend who is with us sees a woman in the row in front of us trying to get rid of two blue small pieces of paper. We don't know what they are for. When the buzzer sounds he asks her what she's trying to get rid of. She says she is with one of ND's assistant coaches and doesn't need them. He happily accepts them.

2:30: We get on an elevator and find our way to club box 22...reserved for ND families of coaches and players. Again we meet up with the Kearneys. I realize that Kurz is really tall. Harangody is a beast. I'm 5'7" and McAlarney isn't too much taller than I am.

2:45: I congratulate Mrs. McAlarney on the win. She is very welcoming and appreciative. And funny to watch during the game. I ask to take a picture with her. She is pleasantly surprised and complies.

3:00: After letting Kyle speak with his family for about 20 minutes I congratulate him too. I note that I didn't realize on TV how quick he was until I saw him in person. Real nice guy. Big smile on his face, good solid handshake, spoke with me for about ten minutes, was very thankful for the support. I tell him the only thing I missed was the ND band and the fight song. He smiles and tells me to come to South Bend.

3:15: The three of us say our goodbyes and head out. What a day. Sit 2 rows behind the bench, watch a win, and get to the club box with a few players.

GO IRISH

very cool. Its sounds like it was an awesome day

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Yeah his entire family is from Scranton, as is the whole side of my mom's family

Good old Scranton. Leppy, go to YouTube and watch Heynabonics. Pretty funny. Your family will appreciate it.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

My uncle from Scranton sent me that video. We all laughed our asses off.

Couple two tree beers...

 

[Granger Irish]

Leppy:

Glad to see that we won yesterday. It had to be a great time for you. Were there many Irish fans there?

 

[Granger Irish]

3:00: After letting Kyle speak with his family for about 20 minutes I congratulate him too. I note that I didn't realize on TV how quick he was until I saw him in person. Real nice guy. Big smile on his face, good solid handshake, spoke with me for about ten minutes, was very thankful for the support. I tell him the only thing I missed was the ND band and the fight song. He smiles and tells me to come to South Bend.

Leppy - my wife and I went to the Meet the Team dinner before the season. We talked to Kyle and actually have a picture of him with my wife. We told him we sent him an email right after his incident last season. We supported him through it all. He came out from behind the table to shake my hand. He is easy to root for. What a great Notre Dame story he is.

 

[ashellm]

geno's and pat's are ok, but tony lukes rules. the chicken cutlet italiano with hot peppers is a must...........

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Granger: Lucky you. Kyle is a real great kid. I was lucky to have seen one of his best games two rows behind the bench.

Nova had tow huge student sections against me, but other than that I'd say the place was 60% Irish and 40% Nova. Lotta ND fans there.

ashelm: Hard to argue with you on Tony Lukes but they are #3 for me behind Geno's and Jim's

 

[quiksilver253]

leppy i must have been like 2 rows behind you. i caught the t-shirt the cheerleaders threw out to that section. we were like 5 rows behind the bench and no one came! it was sick...and we were way up there originally like 5 rows from the top.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

you were that guy haha. I should have worn a shirt that read "Polish Leppy" on it. we were in the 2nd row behind the ND families. we should have went 1st row.the whole row was empty the whole game!

 

[quiksilver253]

haha in the first half, every time someone came down i was like"sh$% theyre definately taking these seats but no one ever came. Mcalarney's mom was hilarious to watch and how about the fat guy to the left dancing...lol