J
johnnykillz
Guest
First of all, for those who have not had the opportunity to visit the University of Notre Dame campus, be patient and diligent of your pursuit, as this was a lifelong goal finally realized at the ripe age of 30. For those wrestling whether or not the trip is worth it, I hope to entice you to understanding the magnitude of your decision regarding a visit. The trip is worth it.
Beauty, marvel, scenery, tradition, and excellence are all synonymous with Notre Dame as has always been. But until meeting the eye the fine intricacies and beauty of our Basilica, the grandeur of Ghosts in the walls of the stadium whose leaders are shelled in bronze outside four entrances to the stadium, among other sights, a person cannot truly understand what Notre Dame has to offer. Small enough to grasp, but large enough to consider enormous, the campus is unbelievable. The Golden Dome is a breathtaking sight, second only to the sight of the football stadium while accidently pulling into the correct drive to place me firmly between Rockne’s gate and the Hesburgh Library’s Touchdown Jesus! The place where all of our blue-collared boys sweat was also high on the list driving past the practice complex.
I met each of those men: Knute, Lou, Frank, and Ara. I know them by their first name now. We spoke briefly, football only of course. They consoled me my wet eyes and we all agreed allergies were bad this time of year. The scenery was breath taking. Forgive my redundancy. I quickly ran out of descriptive adjectives once I strolled down to the Grotto. There, as I said I would, I said a prayer for my family, my town, my country, Matt James, our fallen soldiers, and my grandfather.
I made a huge rookie mistake in the Basilica. After kneeling at the pew, I quickly stood up to go to meet an official within and quickly out of habit placed my visor back on. As I walked up to the gentlemen, I was pleasantly surprised to observe him walking to meet me halfway. Upon shaking his hand, I understood why… (I am such a bonehead!) He was cordial and I apologized several times. I also asked him if I should head to confession over it, hoping for laughter that was met.
The pep rally was so AWESOME. If you were there, I was the nerd towards the Eddy Street Commons yelling “Defense!” when Kelly introduced Diaco at the rally. I met Dick Vitale. He threw the ball surprisingly well under the tent. Huge experience nonetheless. Armando is terrible at free styling.
And the game, we all know how that went, but my experience was solid. The player walk was tremendous. I had met Dever head on earlier, but seeing them all less than 5 feet from me was awesome. Armando Allen senior was a nice blue-collared guy. He told me of his decision to do the right thing when Jr. was on his way, devoting his life to working to take care of his responsibilities rather than pursuing athletics himself. Through his son, he felt his work worthwhile. Manti is a juggernaut looking guy. I’m so glad he made the commitment to play for us!
But the best experience, besides the multitude of beauties all over the campus, was the nicest people of any Midwest college in our nation! The alumni were all so friendly and helpful. They took me and my buddy in as their own, as they explained we are all one. I met the greatest family at Rocco’s. They took us in and tailgated our butts off! They even offered to find us tickets if we needed them! I exchanged contact information with them, and now we will forever correspond.
This campus is truly blessed.
The greatest of all game time experiences was the campus yell from quadrants within Notre Dame Stadium: WE! ARE! N! D!
This will always give me goose bumps from now until forever.
And when the sun came through the clouds on Saturday, I knew my grandfather was up above watching the game with us all. And then they scored. But life isn't always about winning. Sometimes we have to lose. Ultimately we all lose the battle. But the war; thats ours...
Go Irish! WE ARE N D!
Beauty, marvel, scenery, tradition, and excellence are all synonymous with Notre Dame as has always been. But until meeting the eye the fine intricacies and beauty of our Basilica, the grandeur of Ghosts in the walls of the stadium whose leaders are shelled in bronze outside four entrances to the stadium, among other sights, a person cannot truly understand what Notre Dame has to offer. Small enough to grasp, but large enough to consider enormous, the campus is unbelievable. The Golden Dome is a breathtaking sight, second only to the sight of the football stadium while accidently pulling into the correct drive to place me firmly between Rockne’s gate and the Hesburgh Library’s Touchdown Jesus! The place where all of our blue-collared boys sweat was also high on the list driving past the practice complex.
I met each of those men: Knute, Lou, Frank, and Ara. I know them by their first name now. We spoke briefly, football only of course. They consoled me my wet eyes and we all agreed allergies were bad this time of year. The scenery was breath taking. Forgive my redundancy. I quickly ran out of descriptive adjectives once I strolled down to the Grotto. There, as I said I would, I said a prayer for my family, my town, my country, Matt James, our fallen soldiers, and my grandfather.
I made a huge rookie mistake in the Basilica. After kneeling at the pew, I quickly stood up to go to meet an official within and quickly out of habit placed my visor back on. As I walked up to the gentlemen, I was pleasantly surprised to observe him walking to meet me halfway. Upon shaking his hand, I understood why… (I am such a bonehead!) He was cordial and I apologized several times. I also asked him if I should head to confession over it, hoping for laughter that was met.
The pep rally was so AWESOME. If you were there, I was the nerd towards the Eddy Street Commons yelling “Defense!” when Kelly introduced Diaco at the rally. I met Dick Vitale. He threw the ball surprisingly well under the tent. Huge experience nonetheless. Armando is terrible at free styling.
And the game, we all know how that went, but my experience was solid. The player walk was tremendous. I had met Dever head on earlier, but seeing them all less than 5 feet from me was awesome. Armando Allen senior was a nice blue-collared guy. He told me of his decision to do the right thing when Jr. was on his way, devoting his life to working to take care of his responsibilities rather than pursuing athletics himself. Through his son, he felt his work worthwhile. Manti is a juggernaut looking guy. I’m so glad he made the commitment to play for us!
But the best experience, besides the multitude of beauties all over the campus, was the nicest people of any Midwest college in our nation! The alumni were all so friendly and helpful. They took me and my buddy in as their own, as they explained we are all one. I met the greatest family at Rocco’s. They took us in and tailgated our butts off! They even offered to find us tickets if we needed them! I exchanged contact information with them, and now we will forever correspond.
This campus is truly blessed.
The greatest of all game time experiences was the campus yell from quadrants within Notre Dame Stadium: WE! ARE! N! D!
This will always give me goose bumps from now until forever.
And when the sun came through the clouds on Saturday, I knew my grandfather was up above watching the game with us all. And then they scored. But life isn't always about winning. Sometimes we have to lose. Ultimately we all lose the battle. But the war; thats ours...
Go Irish! WE ARE N D!
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