Nothing Like A Big Game on Campus

It was the fall of 2005, and there was an exciting new vibe on the Notre Dame campus. Charlie Weis had arrived at his alma mater bearing swagger and Super Bowl rings, and the Fighting Irish were picking up on the fresh start.  They had recorded road wins at Pittsburgh, Michigan, Washington and Purdue, sandwiched around an overtime home loss to Michigan State.

October 15, 2005.  Southern Cal.  ESPN College GameDay.

Our younger daughter, Elizabeth, was a Notre Dame freshman and had joined her older sister Kerry in the Band of the Fighting Irish. Now, in just her second home game, the eyes of the college football world were fixed on her campus. She joined other members of the Band for an early Friday morning ESPN segment from right outside the Notre Dame Stadium.

How cool is this, she thought.  This is what my four years at Notre Dame are going to be like.

Well, not so much.  Yes, two BCS trips (for disturbingly one-sided losses to Ohio State and LSU), then the disaster of 2007 and another pile of losses in 2008.  And, no return trip from GameDay.

Until this week.  There’s a buzz on campus again, the way it should be heading into a Big Game.  Ironically, the officially-named Big Game between Stanford and Cal comes just next week, instead of its traditional spot in late November.  Little chance Stanford will be looking ahead, though. The Cardinal have owned the Irish for three years running, and they’re not likely to give up that laurel without a heckuva fight.

Crisp fall air.  Brilliant colors. Tremendous tailgates. All the traditional trappings.  And a lot of attention across the nation.

You can’t ask for anything more.  Go Irish.