Back on ND's Campus

The afternoon’s elusive sun slowly applied its gentle pressure on my back, warming me through four layers of clothing.

In front of me rose a wall of the Hesburgh library, 17 stories high. I was waiting with hundreds of Notre Dame football fans for the team to come walking by.

The large, shallow reflecting pond at the foot of the mural is empty of water, having been drained for the winter, but it’s pretty nonetheless.

As I waited, I thought, this is heaven on earth. I’m so glad to be back on campus. The anticipation in the air among the crowd was exhilarating.

My son Matthew had surprised me with two tickets to the Boston College game, a school that at times had become a bitter, highly competitive rival, replete with crushing last-second field goals and sod rudely torn from ND’s football field after one BC victory.

They are the only two Catholic universities that play Division I football, and there’s not a lotta love lost between the teams or the fans.

And it was Senior Day, when seniors on the team would play their final home game, and be specially celebrated by their parents and the ND faithful.

But the football played in ND Stadium on some recent Senior Days had been disappointing. ND lost to Syracuse University on Senior Day in 2008, after Syracuse had already fired its head coach, who was permitted to coach the rest of the season. On the Senior Day the following year, ND was upset by the University of Connecticut.

Earlier that day, the ND players and coaches had celebrated Mass in a roped-off portion inside the high-ceilinged basilica, had lunch, and were making their way toward the stadium about two hours before game time.

One of my layers of clothing was a navy blue football jersey that bore the number three, for senior wide receiver Michael Floyd.

Floyd had decided to stay at ND for his senior year, despite a cloud that shrouded his college football future – a third conviction for driving under the influence. After a suspension, he was reinstated to the team, and had by this time set many new records for pass receptions.
Floyd plays with a passion and sometimes reckless abandon that is a privilege to watch, and his talent is often a thing to behold. And I had had that privilege for four years.

At 4:10 p.m., ND’s final home game for the 2011 season would begin, bringing to a close a season that, for me, represented progress and some very fine moments, but fell short of preseason expectations.

I use the following examples: In the first game of the season, ND running back Jonas Gray was en route to a touchdown when the ball was stripped. It fell to the ground, was grabbed on the hop by an opposing player, who ran the length of the field for a score. As they say, it was a 14-point turnaround to begin the game.

The following week, another opponent has the ball near the goal line. The running back plunges toward the end zone, and the ball is stripped by an ND defender. The ball takes a single bounce toward UM quarterback Denard Robinson, who grabs it and runs in for the score. At times, it was that kind of season.

But you make your own luck, and you are what your record says.

And it’s not just the game. The people – the students, the university staff and the visitors are unfailingly polite. “Welcome to Notre Dame,” the ushers say as your enter the stadium.
The main bookstore at the other end of campus is impossibly crowded and warm under four layers of clothing, but everyone is patient and polite with each other. No Walmart-type altercations to mar the day, at least not in my field of vision.

Matthew, who recently developed a passion for photography, brought a camera and several lenses for the event, and at times I was his assistant. Having raised him, I know he is given to strong interests in different things, and I’m happy to help.

The two non-human staples for the day appear to be electronics and beer. Everyone’s got a camera or a cell phone, happily taking photos of each other, and cans of beer are ubiquitous. It’s not allowed on campus, of course, but one of the things I’ve always liked about visiting ND is that they bend over backward to make all visitors comfortable. A few pregame beers on campus, as long as people behave, are not a big deal. And that, by my lights, is the way it should be.

We don’t drink. Gotta drive home after the game. But the atmosphere on campus is sufficiently intoxicating for this fan.

The game? A nail biter that ND toughed out for a 16-14 win. They’re learning how to win, like Coach Brian Kelly says. Matthew and I drive home, happy, analytical about the game, and I’m a bit tired. It was a great day. Thanks, Bud.