Storming the Field

I don't know if I'm going to lug my laptop along anymore when my husband and I go on weekend trips.  I bring it, thinking I'll blog every day...and then it often ends up sitting on the hotel room desk, sad and ignored, while I'm out having a good time.  Sorry, laptop.  (That's not a very good way to treat an electronic device that has done so much for me, is it?)

It was a GREAT weekend at Notre Dame, and I was too busy and having too much fun to blog about it.  I was just enjoying living in the moment--without worrying about snapping away on my camera or typing away on this keyboard.

I did take a handful of pictures in the stadium on Saturday, as my husband and I watched the Irish play Stanford in the pouring rain.  (Despite our rain ponchos, our jeans were completely soaked by the end--but if you know how the game turned out, you know it was totally worth it!)  At one point I glanced over at the "Touchdown Jesus" mural on the library, and I thought it looked so neat looming majestically above the crowd in the stands that I braved the raindrops and took my iPhone out to capture the image as quickly as possible.

My phone got a little wet in the process but wasn't irreparably harmed.  Afterwards, one of our nieces told us that many of her friends' cell phones got ruined by the rain in the course of the game.  (Again, if you know how it turned out, you know it was totally worth it!)

ND and Stanford ended up tied 13-13 at the end of regulation play, and then ND scored first in overtime to make it 20-13.  The greatest moments came right at the very end of the contest, when Stanford was threatening to score and the Irish defense came up HUGE and held them at 3rd and inches and then 4th and inches, denying them the touchdown that could have sent the game into double-OT.  Earlier in the game, the announcer had said that, in order to ensure the safety of all the players and coaches, it would be greatly appreciated if spectators didn't come down onto the field after the game.  So I'm asking you: do you think the ND students stormed the field after that game-winning goal line stand, or did they respectfully follow orders?  (In case you're having trouble deciding your answer, here's a picture of the ND student section storming the field when the fat lady had sung.)

It's funny, as I watched the students pour out of the stands, I said to my husband,"They weren't supposed to do that.  Are they going to get in trouble?"  (I'm a rule follower from way back, you understand.)  He smiled indulgently at me as if to say, "Silly girl," and replied, "These kids have been waiting a long time to have a team they can be this excited about.  No one's going to begrudge them that celebration on the field."  Okay, that was a bit of paraphrasing there.  I don't believe my husband used the word "begrudge"--although he may have--but that was the gist of our post-game exchange.

As my husband and I walked back to our nieces' off-campus house to have dinner, rehash the game, and celebrate this awesome victory with family and friends, our soaked-through jeans got even wetter (if that's possible).  But it was a small price to pay to have been able to watch this electrifying game right there at Notre Dame's stadium, in the shadow of "Touchdown Jesus," with the student section absolutely on fire.

The Irish are now 6-0 and ranked 5th in the nation.  Excitement is in the air.  Die-hard Irish fans are wearing Hawaiian leis in honor of defensive powerhouse Manti T'eo (you just gotta love Manti, I don't care where your loyalties lie!).   The students are going to storm the field to celebrate victories alongside their beloved team--and don't try to tell them they shouldn't.  They are beginning to believe, for the first time in a long time, that their boys in blue and gold could have a horse in the race for the national championship.

So, my dear readers, I'm sorry for neglecting my blog for the past few days--but you can see that there was a lot going on out in South Bend while my husband and I were there.  I tried to post something early yesterday morning at the hotel before we set out on our 16-hour road trip back home from Notre Dame, but I just couldn't get it done.  I'll try to stay on top of it from now on.

But until next time--GO IRISH!!