The famous home of Notre Dome in South Bend, Indiana is only a 90 minute drive from Chicago. I got up early, hired a car and I tried to race through the several tolls towards one of the most famous Universities in the world. By midday I was already parked up, some three and a half hours before kickoff, although I lost an hour due to the time difference driving into Indiana.This weekend the Mullet (our tailgating bus) is in Chicago getting an overhaul, and hopefully having a heater installed. So this is the first game this year that I went by car. The white car park lot is available for fans like me who do not have a pre-parking pass. I was told that the white car park is far from the stadium, so there are shuttle busses that take you right into the campus. I asked a steward just how far the campus is and he told me it is only half a mile. These American folk really don’t like to walk.
There was little tailgating going on in this car park and everyone was lining up for the bus. I was going to walk and then the bus just happened to turn up, so like my American counterparts I hopped on the free shuttle for half a mile. I noticed two things that I was not expecting. Firstly; there were so many small children and babies around. There must have been at least five push chairs on my shuttle bus alone. I continued to notice a lot of family outings once inside the campus also.
The second thing I noticed was the sheer volume of Bears’ jerseys and hats that were being worn. Although Notre Dame is just 90 miles south of Chicago, I never knew so many Bears fans rooted for this University, because this stadium is not in Illinois but Indiana. I have never had a real affiliation with any American college team, but with so many Bears logos on display this could well be my team.
This season I am not spending any money on ridiculous merchandise, but I still ask the staff members in the merchandise tents what they think is the most ridiculous item. Today the staff member felt it was the green wig. I got a message from my Dad who follows some NFL but certainly not college football asking me to get him a t-shirt from this famous ground. Notre Dame is a “Catholic” school and naturally their colours are mainly green. Their alternative name is the “Fighting Irish” and they have a leprechaun as their logo and mascot.
I made my way around the campus and that is where I saw the famous “Touchdown Jesus” over-looking a long pool of water and a grass lawn that lead all the way to the stadium. This is the nickname for the humungous mural of Jesus, whom mirrors the raised arms of a referee signaling a TD. The mural is so big that you can see it from inside the stadium, and the mural must be at least 300 yards from the stadium.
The campus is as stunning. The buildings look like something out of a posh private school in rural England, with their peaked roof and mock-Tudor facades. The grass around the stadium is perfectly cut and there was not one piece of litter anywhere. The place was pristine. On the large lawn people gathered with drinks, and took pictures of the Touchdown Jesus.
At this point I had everything: Parking? Check. T-shirt for my Dad? Check. A Notre Dame blanket for my girlfriend, Steph? (She is Catholic so I thought this would be a good gift) Check. A game day program? Check (Which by the way is by far the thickest and most informative of any game day program I have ever bought, with 240 pages). The only thing eluding me was a game day ticket. Because I have found college game day tickets so easily on this trip I never thought this game would be difficult. I asked someone on the lawn if they knew where I could get a ticket. He told me I was in the wrong place, as they crack down on scalpers by the stadium, and that I should walk off-campus.
“Here come the Irish” I heard repeat itself in full surround sound as a crowd gathered towards the front of the mighty stadium. The band chanted this line first and the on-looking crowd would echo it back as the band wormed its way through the bodies into the stadium doors. There was electricity in the air, and I then knew this ticket might be a tough one to pick up.
Apparently USC and Notre Dame is one of the biggest rivalries in all of college football. I had no idea and probably would have tried to get tickets sooner had I have known. I walked out of the stunning campus to the road. I found one or two scalpers, but they were not easy to spot. They wanted anywhere between $175 and $250 just a nose bleed seat! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. As I didn’t take the mullet I was therefore not tailgating and cooking for other fans, so I had to go up to strangers and ask them if they had a spare. I was not having the luck of the Irish at all, especially when I met plenty of people that were willing to outspend me on a ticket.
I made my down Tyckenham drive where people were tailgating in their front gardens. Cars were double and treble parked on the front lawns and this is where people were able to be tailgate much freer regarding drinking and having BBQs. I walked the street and by now most of the fans were rather drunk. Talking to them about potential tickets, did not get me too far, and gave them a good laugh. I did spot a great tailgate school bus that had a roof deck across the whole bus. On top of that was a great rock band, fully equipped with a drum kit, guitars and a huge P.A system. They kept rocking all the way to kick off.
I felt disgruntled that I still was not able to get a ticket. I had driven down here and all of all the college games on my list this year I really wanted to go inside this stadium. I took a lonely walk back to the stadium as my car was parked on the opposite side. Kick off had been and gone and I found myself walking against the grain of people. Hundreds if not a thousand or so people were walking away from the stadium. I had to ask them where they were going and they told me they are “Townies”. This fine breed of ND fans go to the tailgate, to “score free booze and food” yet have no interest in going into the stadium, and then they make a mad rush to get home and watch it on T.V. I have heard of T.V tailgaters who at least watch the game on T.V at their tailgate but to actually go home, many of whom drive back, seems madness!
Back at the stadium there must have been at least 30-40 people who were all trying to sneak a peak of what was going on in the game. Some were families with their pushchairs, some were post-grad age students and some were old age pensioners. All of them had one or two fingers in the air. This is the sign for any would-be ticket sellers to tell them just how many tickets they want. I joined this finger-waving posses for a few minutes. But once they all told me they were still willing to pay over $150 for a ticket, even though they had missed the first quarter, I had to surrender to defeat. I made the lonely walk back to the library.
A bus turned up right on time. I got on with six other people. Three of whom were Mexican women who each had a Notre Dame White towel and told me they were inside the stadium, as vendors, and once the game kicked off they were free to go home. The other three were guys who were counting up their money after selling tickets.
I was still bitter about not getting a ticket, but I was still pleased I went down there and digested a great atmosphere. I couldn’t help feel disdain for the whole Notre Dame university though. I rushed back to Chicago, where my friends were hosting a party on the Mullet. They were watching the USC and ND game on my T.V and I raised a happy smirk when I noticed that Notre Dame got beat! 
0 comments:
Post a Comment