I got to go to my first Notre Dame game last year...ND vs. Navy. Even though we lost, it was absolutely the most amazing thing I have ever been around. Some of my observations, just to get you even more excited:
1. The campus is indescribably beautiful. Each and every building looks like a French chapel, and the grounds are meticulous. It's truly what a fall Saturday should look like...just majestic.
2. The stadium is incredible. The thing that struck me in this day and age is how there is absolutely nothing to do at it BUT watch a football game. I loved that. It was like going to football church or something. No jumbotron, no flashing graphics or advertisements hanging everywhere...not even music save for the band. Just wooden benches, football, and a blue sky above. Heaven.
3. They have some GREAT food on sale all over the campus. If you can find it, I highly recommend the Knights of Columbus stand (over by one of the chapel's I think). They make an INCREDIBLE sandwich.
4. The walk to the stadium for the team is awesome, and on the outer ring of the stadium wall / concourse you can watch them come in like a Roman procession. Very cool.
5. The Hesburgh library is only
five to six times cooler looking in person than on TV. And that's saying something.
6. It's surreal...when you start getting near South Bend you start seeing all sorts of people decked out in Notre Dame gear, with even gas stations selling merchandise. To me, that was surreal because I live in Kansas City and am so used to being the only one in Notre Dame gear. To suddenly be in packs of folks just like me, that was so odd.
7. They do not serve beer at the stadium, so prepare to enjoy some soda for the afternoon. I think this is a great move because it keeps anybody in the crowd who might be thinking of embarrassing the school a little bit more in check. The crowd is very gracious to both teams, and that's nice.
8. I was really shocked at how small South Bend really is. You would think there would be much more lodging and places to eat, etc. But, I guess most people do what we did...fly into Chicago and make the short drive. It's not like fifteen minutes or anything, but it's not bad. I went to a Division II school and it's town was larger than South Bend.
9. Be sure you go by and find the...I think it's Sister's of St. Mary's maybe...stand. They have a raffle they do each year you can buy tickets for. You can purchase as many as you like and if you win, you get season tickets for the next season and it comes with lodging at the super small, but incredibly nice and convenient inn on campus. That way, all you have to do is travel to and from ND...the rest is taken care of.
Here are my photos from the trip:
Flickr: dre1919's Photostream
Have a great time, and GO IRISH!!!!
