Category Archives: Notre Dame

Smells from Notre Dame

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Think you know where I’m going with this one, right?

As a writer, I have to “exercise” all my senses, and scent is definitely one of them. So here goes:

  • Incense. Mass at the Basilica on Sunday morning featured the newly-installed Bishop of Lafayette, IN. While he obviously was a Purdue fan, Notre Dame welcomed him, and he returned the welcome — dousing all of us with tons of blessed incense. Thank goodness for air conditioning, which helped clear the air!
  • Grilling. The individual dorms set up luncheon fare — brats, hot dogs, burgers, etc. — on the grounds outside, and students hawked their wares at passersby. The pungent odor of charcoal blended with the scent of magic markers (used to write out their prices on poster board signs).
  • Cigarettes. Being from Illinois, where smoking has been all-but-banned in every public space, I’ve gotten used to the clean smell of fresh air. Our neighbors to the East, however, haven’t opted for this type of law. Consequently, I found lots of cigar and cigarette smoke wafting across campus (though smoking IS banned in Notre Dame Stadium!)
  • Clothing. Because it turned cool early, people brought out hoodies, jackets, and jeans — all of which have a distinctive scent. Perhaps it’s mustiness from being in a closet or drawer for so long; maybe it’s simply newness from being purchased that day at the campus bookstore!
  • Brass. Band instruments made of brass — trumpets, trombones, tubas, etc. — offer up a metallic smell as their owners march past.
  • Dog. Surprisingly, many people brought their dogs to campus to watch the festivities. I saw a Puggle (Beagle-Pug mix), a Goldendoodle (Golden Retriever-Poodle mix), and many others (one wearing a cute Notre Dame bandanna!)
  • Grass. No, not the drug! I’m talking about freshly-cut green grass, the kind you walk on. The scent of mud blended with the grass and reminded me just how beautiful this campus is — in every season.
  • Beer. Okay, you knew I had to smell that! While officials are fairly rigid about prohibiting alcohol inside Notre Dame Stadium, tailgate parties were being held all over the place — parking lots, nearby hotels, and I expect dorms. In addition, I saw people carrying beer cans around campus, heard more than a few slurred words, and got a whiff of brew whenever people opened their mouths to talk or cheer.
  • Cologne. Not just on the women but on the men, too, in the form of after-shave lotion, antiperspirant, etc. Much better than plain-old sweat!

Join me as I do some more reminiscing tomorrow.

Sounds from Notre Dame

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Okay, I know most people would write about “sights” first, but I’ve always liked shaking things up a bit!

From the peace and calm of the Basilica and the Grotto to the wail of sirens, the screams of fans, and the blare of the Band, Notre Dame is a sea of sounds over a home football weekend.

  • The Grotto. How many universities in this country have their very own “prayer-place” where the silence weighs heavily despite the throngs nearby?
  • The Basilica. Commonly referred to as the “wedding factory” because of the sheer volume of weddings it hosts (never on football Saturdays, though!), the Basilica of the Sacred Heart is where the entire football team and coaching staff go — clad in suits and ties — before home games.
  • St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s Lakes. Complete with a real swimming swan, no less.
  • The circle. Plenty of benches to rest you, fat squirrels to entertain you, shade to cool you (but, with temps hovering in the 50s and 60s, that certainly wasn’t necessary!)
  • Campus tours. Led by students who walk backwards while carrying on a running commentary, these are a great way to see campus and hear some interesting tidbits of the past and the present.
  • Bagpipe Band. Comprised of kilt-wearing students, this group parades around campus playing bagpipes and drums; they also hold a short concert on the morning of a home game.
  • Band of the Fighting Irish. Approximately 400-strong, this group is the heart and spirit of the University! Some of their traditions for football weekends include Trumpets in the Dome, a Concert on the Steps of the architecture building, march-outs around campus, as well as pregame, half-time, and post-game performances.
  • Clarke Memorial Fountain. AKA ‘Stonehenge,’ this limestone fountain features water splashing into a black granite pool; no matter the temps, you can find swimsuit-clad students (mostly males) with immense plastic blow-up rafts and other water toys awaiting the Band’s arrival and cheering wildly.
  • Leprechaun. Yes, a student chosen as the green-suited, acrobatic leprechaun to help the cheerleaders keep the noise pulsating before, during, and after games.
  • Fans. Dads playing an impromptu game of catch with their young sons, moms helping paint their daughters’ fingernails alternating colors of navy and gold, students running to and fro chattering excitedly, fans of the opposing team arriving and people actually being polite and nice to the visitors.
  • The Stadium. You just can’t help hearing “the Echos” of past generations in tradition-rich cheers, chants, and ceremonies — the blessing the players receive in the tunnel before the game, the singing of “America the Beautiful,” the raising of the American Flag, the playing of numerous school songs, and the singing of the Alma Mater at the conclusion, when the entire football team proceeds to the student section, links arms, and sways from side to side!

I’ll continue reminiscing tomorrow!

Notre Dame Football, part 1

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I just got back from my first football weekend at Notre Dame, and I’m stoked to capture it all! But, writer that I am, I took in so many impressions I’ll have to break them up over a few days’ time.

Let’s get the preliminaries out of the way today.

This was a BIG DEAL for me. I imagine lots of people go to college football games every year, but I’m one who hasn’t.

Not that I haven’t wanted to.

It’s just that I live 500 or so miles from my alma mater (Go Rebels!), and that’s a pretty far piece to travel for a three-hour game.

So I watch on TV every Saturday, screaming at the screen, yelling with the fans, and scaring my poor Sheltie senseless!

And even when I was an undergrad, I was in the Band all four years, so I never really had to figure out the logistics of attending a game. Things like: how do you get a ticket, where can you park, what can you bring (or not bring) into the stadium, how do you find your seat.

That sort of thing.

So last year, when My Favorite Domer asked me to come to a Notre Dame game, I panicked and put him off. Couldn’t get tickets, couldn’t get a hotel room.

‘Fraidy-cat. Big time.

This year, he tried again, only he was ready for my excuses. He fired up his laptop and found me a convenient hotel (so it was in the next county, but Indiana isn’t that big!); he even sent me a link to order my tickets online.

How could I refuse?

My sister (who’s been married forever) said I was very brave to try something like this by myself. Several friends, jealous they couldn’t get tickets for the season’s first game under a brand new coach, insisted I take LOTS of pictures so they could experience it vicariously. Even my mom volunteered to go with me and stay in the hotel “so I wouldn’t be alone.”

They thought I was NUTS for wanting to be alone!

But I wasn’t. There were 80,000-plus fans screaming right alongside me!

Tomorrow, I’ll share more sights and sounds from campus.

ND @ San Antonio

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How exciting! Notre Dame plays Washington State at a neutral location tomorrow, so the Fighting Irish are in San Antonio, Texas, for the action. Of course, the Band is there, too, lending musical (and moral) support for the team, as well as performing locally for alumni and the public.

Somebody did a fantastic job planning the Band’s itinerary;  it must have been a logistical nightmare getting 400-some Band members and their equipment from South Bend to San Antonio. They’ll perform at a Pep Rally this evening, do a concert tomorrow afternoon, then take the field for Pregame, Halftime, and Post-game performances on Saturday evening.

Since My Favorite Domer is also in the Band, he got to go along on the trip (his first flight!). As much as I’ve flown in my life (East Coast to West, North to South), and as much as I love flying, it’s still a little nerve-wracking to have your kid 40,000 feet or so above the Earth. But my parents couldn’t protect me when I was on a plane any more than I can protect MFD. It’s really a “leap of faith” that we parents must take, letting our kids grow up a little step at a time. But better that than tossing them to the wind in one fell swoop!

One thing these kids are sure to notice — the weather! San Antonio is expected to be sunny with temps in the upper 70s on Saturday, while South Bend will be in the low 50s, windy, and partly cloudy. Bet that sunshine will feel good after the cool Fall we Midwesterners have seen this year!