A Win, A Loss, and A Birthday

Two weeks later and I finally have a post. A little over a week ago, the family traveled 8.5 hours to South Bend, IN. Not many good things can be said about Indiana. But, one very good thing is that it is the home state of the great University of Notre Dame. I only wish that I had $42,000/year to go there when I was 18. But, I digress. This year's trip did not disappoint. The weather was beautiful. The whole family arrived safely. Eric and I rented an SUV so my parents could ride up with us. Dustin (my brother for those who don't read regularly) and his wife Sarah flew up from Jacksonville, FL.

Friday we took a stroll around campus and spent too much money in the book store. We learned the hard way to not go near the bookstore on game day it is complete chaos.

The campus is amazing. South Bend isn't that pretty of a city but when you walk onto campus it all changes. This is the famous golden dome. It serves as their administrative building.

One of the new attempts of Notre Dame to make game-day weekend fan friendlier is to open up the famous tunnel for fans to come take pictures on Friday. If you are not familiar with the famous tunnel, it is the tunnel in which the players run out of before every game. If you need further clarification, check out the movie Rudy. This was an emotional moment for my family. I am not sure if the emotions came from the surrounding environment or the horrible memories of last season.

This is looking up the tunnel. All the National Championship banners hang there in all their glory. ND has the most National Championships of any college football team. They are third in college football history for most wins just behind Michigan in first then Texas. ND decided to help Michigan widen that gap this past weekend.

There are a few sites that have to be seen every time we go. The Grotto is a replica of Grotto of Massabielle in France. In 1878, St. Bernadette claimed to have a vision of Mary. St. Bernadette reported that Mary directed her to an unheard-of spring in the grotto. The site in France is popular for Pilgrims because it is believed that the water has special healing powers. In the upper-right-hand corner of the photo you will see the bottom of a statue. This is a statue Lady of Lourdes (Mary). This is always the quietest place on campus. When we go to the USC game, I will try to get a better picture of the grotto and of the lake it faces.

This is my brother and wonderful sister-in-law. Sarah is a huge UT fan but is always great when we head up to ND. She stays in good mood even when Dustin and Eric give her a hard time about being a UT fan. Sometimes they are ruthless. Let's just remind Eric he went to UT.

We take one of these pictures every year in front of Touchdown Jesus. The actual name for this 1964 mural/mosaic by Millard Sheets is "The Word of Life" a reference to the scripture John 1:1-5. The art is located on the side of the university's library.

About 3 hours before kickoff, the players all attend mass. They attend mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart seen in the background of this picture. This is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been in. It also houses that largest pool of holy water I have ever seen in my life. The fans are waiting for the players to walk from mass to the stadium. We always wait for about an hour for a good spot along the walk. It is over in less than two minutes. Hey, when you are a fan you are a fan. I will try to get pics of the inside of the church next time.

As you enter the stadium, there are statues honoring the great coaches and players of ND's history. My family's favorite is Lou Holtz. Holtz was the head coach of ND from 1986-1996. Interesting fact about Holtz, he had the names removed off the back of the jerseys to promote team unity. The names have not been on the back of the jerseys since. I love him even if he makes crazy claims like ND is going to play Florida in the National Championship this year. Dustin and Eric were excited to get their pic with Lou.

This is our view during the game. The stadium is very small so there isn't a bad seat in the house. There isn't even a jumbo tron. See the sea of gold in the left? That is the famous student section. Watching them makes me miss college.

The whole family after the Nevada game. It was great we won 35-0. Maybe Lou is right. But wait, Michigan beat us this past Saturday. Ughh.

Eric and I after the game. He is always happy around sporting venues. Just a note, Eric doesn't have a white circle on his neck in real life. He is white circle free.

It was a great long weekend. As noted earlier in the blog, ND lost the following weekend to Michigan. I was really hoping to see Rich Rodriguez cry again. It was also my 27th birthday this weekend. No big celebrations just stayed at home with the hubby. So, not a bad couple of weeks if I say so myself.