THE SMITH FAMILY: We Love Thee Notre Dame

We planned my dad's visit to coincide with our tickets to the Notre Dame-BYU football game. My dad had never been to a game, in fact he had never been to Notre Dame and we knew he would love it, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take him.

On Game Day we got all our ND gear on and drove to South Bend. We even bought a shirt in advance for my dad so he was properly attired! Also, Paige didn't go with us to the game, she's not much of a sports fan, so fortunately she was able to stay with some friends for the day.

We left as early as possible so we would have time to show my dad around campus, tailgate and just enjoy the atmosphere. Game Days are always fun and Notre Dame has a relatively small campus, with the stadium right on campus so there is always a lot going on.

First off we did a drive by of where we lived while Dave was in school. Not much to see at married student housing except really old apartment buildings. To our surprise and good luck, we parked next to some friends of ours from the law school days. It was great to get to see the Bernards, talk and catch up with them. They are BYU and Notre Dame grads, so they were excited enough for the game that Laura, who was 8+ months pregnant drove 5+ hours from Iowa to see the game. Man, she is tough!

Once on campus, we started off by hitting the three must see sights. Strangely, I only have pictures of two: The Grotto, Touchdown Jesus (Library) and the Golden Dome (Admin. Bldg.)

We then went over to the new law school

then toured the bookstore which of course was a madhouse on game day, but hey you gotta do it!

There are also lots of traditions on campus on game day. The football teams always goes to mass and then they march through campus on their way to the stadium. The band also holds an outdooor concert and after they march through campus and lead everyone to the stadium for the game. Plus there is a lot of tailgating and food to eat all over. Another good thing is that because it was a BYU game and half the people we know are BYU alums, we saw a lot of people we know on campus--too bad they were rooting for the wrong team!

But my dad was loving it. It's pretty hard not to sucked into all the fun. We watched the team as they left mass, then we ate some brats at a tailgate and got ready to follow the band, cheerleaders and color guard into the stadium.

Coach Kelly

Manti Te'o - pretty much the campus hero

Students lining up to get into Notre Dame Stadium

Ashley got a high-five from the Leprechaun and by the time we got in the stadium, we pretty much had my dad sold. There is just so much excitement it's hard not to get caught up in it. We had good seats, in the end zone above the student section. We all had so much fun, even though the Irish had us biting our nails, they played the game so close. The Irish are still undefeated here we come National Championship!