September 3, 2011
Notre Dame Stadium (Capacity: 80,795)
South Bend, IN
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs South Florida Bulls
Final Score: 20 – 23
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One of the most storied places in all of sports is Notre Dame Stadium and we were lucky enough to be in town for a wedding, with the game being able to fit into the schedule. This also was a milestone stadium (#100) for me and even a lengthy lightning delay in the middle of the game could not ruin this experience. The University of Notre Dame is located just north of South Bend, the fourth largest city in Indiana, home to around 100,000. It is a fully functioning city without the school, but of course when you hear South Bend, Notre Dame is the first thought that pops into your head. It is a devoutly catholic school, which is evident while strolling campus and it is a school highly ranked and strong on academics. Fighting Irish football is the main focus of a strong athletic program (they also have one of the best intramural programs in the country). Eight National Championships, seven Heisman Trophy winners and 96 All-American’s put the Irish with the bluebloods of the sport. Their last title came in 1988 with Lou Holtz as coach and though they’ve seen varied success over the last two decades, it has been quite a while since they had a legitimate chance at a National Title (which is the main goal as they do not play in a conference). Since 1930, they have played at Notre Dame Stadium, an amazing old-school, no-frills facility that allows for history and traditions to be the main part of the experience.
Prestige Ranking: 5 out of 5
Location
Notre Dame Stadium is located in the southeast part of campus, near other athletic facilities. Before heading there though, it is imperative to take a walk through campus to see some Notre Dame icons (try not to do it on Gameday so that you can avoid the crowds). The famous Golden Dome is on top of the Main Building, which houses most of the administrative offices. Just to the left is the Basilica, a stunning church with incredible stained glass windows. Nearby is the peaceful Grotto, which houses a stone inlet filled with candles as people and students come here for prayer, reflection and quiet time. Heading closer to the football stadium, the impressive 14-story Hesburgh Library sits to the north. In front of a reflecting pond, it is one of the more impressive views in sports. A mural of Christ was created on the side of the huge building and many refer to this as “Touchdown Jesus” as his arms are raised, looking to Notre Dame Stadium. There is one place to eat within walking distance as the newly created Legends of Notre Dame is right near the stadium (expect a crowd). South Bend’s downtown is two miles away and features both attractions and decent restaurants. The Studebaker National Museum in particular is a great place to check out, especially for car aficionados.
Location Ranking: 9.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Even though we had to use a shuttle bus, I was impressed at how easy it was to get to this 80,000+ seat stadium. There aren’t too many public parking areas, as we ended up in the White Lot on the far north side of campus. We were staying in the northern part of town and took Juniper Road in. To my shock, there was no traffic upon arriving two hours before game time. We were directed right to a grassy parking spot, walked immediately to a shuttle bus and were dropped off at the library. Now I heard using exit 77 from I-90/I-80 (which leads straight into the entrance to the White Lot) traffic did get backed up as that is the main entrance to parking. If somehow you can use Cleveland Road to Juniper Road, it is simpler and we didn’t even have traffic exiting the parking lot either. Closer to the stadium is of course where the parking lots for the season ticket holders are. This is where most of the tailgating can be found as well.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6 out of 8
Exterior
The tan-colored exterior is a mix of brick and concrete as it has an oval appearance with four separate gates. Each end has “University of Notre Dame” embedded in gold letters on the stadium. The look and material used for the exterior is consistent with most of the buildings on campus making for a great introduction to the stadium.
Exterior Ranking: 7.5 out of 10
Concourse
The covered first level concourse is tall and wide as it features a brick inside wall filled with inlets on various honors, championships and achievements (more on that in “Displays”). On the outer edges of the concourse are very long ramps that bring you to the top level of the stadium and it takes a while to get there (there are also a couple middle concourses, but they do not encircle the stadium). At the top, is a smaller concourse that is outdoors, but mostly protected from precipitation thanks to the seating bowl. Having this much space for a one-level stadium is pretty good even if things get crowded at times up top. In terms of the design, yeah it’s plain, but it fits the stadium and tradition here.
Concourse Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Food
Many food stands offered the usual stadium dreck including pizza, hot dogs and nachos. Variability could be found in periodic separate stands. Most of these were for Polish Sausage and Irish Banger Steaks. Tough to find and well worth seeking out were stations for carved turkey, corned beef and prime rib. There is even a noodle stand with other Asian foods, something I did not expect to see at Notre Dame. Alcohol is not served on campus.
Food Ranking: 6 out of 8
Interior
Not much has changed since 1930 as Notre Dame Stadium is refreshingly simple on the inside. A two-level, enclosed rounded rectangle is the seating design and it is remarkably intimate and close to the field for 80,000 seats. Most of the seating is in the first level and it’s not really an elevation change between the two levels, it’s just separated by a walkway in some parts of the stadium. That second tier of seating was added in a 1997 renovation. Nearly all seats are bleachers, set on concrete and they are tight, which is common with most college stadiums when it’s packed. The second level has an older style bleacher as it is wooden. Adding to the lack of comfort (especially on this hot day) is the absence to find any sort of shade or weather protection. The only structure above the seating bowl is on top of the west sideline, where a glass-enclosed press box is located. It is surprisingly small given the popularity of the team and it only extends to each 30 yard line. If you’re going to bank on tradition, it’s great to see consistency on that throughout the whole stadium and that includes the exclusion of suites. Even better: No advertising in the stadium. The only outside view at Notre Dame stadium is from the higher level seating in the Southern sections. That is where you have the stunning view of Touchdown Jesus and in the corner, the Golden Dome of the Main Building.
Interior Ranking: 8.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
Consistency continued as these are the simplest, smallest boards you will ever see at this level of college football. Two black scoreboards are located atop the seating bowl on the ends. The top half features score, time, down, etc., while the bottom half is a small dot-matrix screen with a Notre Dame logo and NBC Sports logo on the sides. It is a shame not to have video replays, but I understand the aura they are going for.
Scoreboard Ranking: 1 out of 4
Displays
Each gate is named after a Notre Dame coach (Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian, Frank Leahy and Lou Holtz), along with a bronze statue on the outside. The statues are well-done. Inside, I always like to see banners that are visible from the playing field and though that is unfortunately not done at Notre Dame Stadium, the banners in the concourse make up for it. Everything was displayed in an informative, skinny vertical fashion on the brick inside wall of the first level concourse. Blue National Championship banners feature the year won, along with a game schedule and big ring underneath it (there are also more traditional championship banners displayed as teams enter the tunnel). Heisman Trophy winners have their picture and a replica Heisman statue. Those Irish players that went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame are similarly honored with a bronze, Canton-like bust under their name. Lastly, Notre Dame’s All-American’s have a black and white poster/picture. The displays are good, but this is Notre Dame. More detailed history or even a museum should be here.
Displays Ranking: 4 out of 6
Cost
Single tickets are $70 or $80, depending on the game. That is pricy, but on par with other programs at this level. Trouble is, you are unlikely to find a face value ticket since most of the stadium is reserved for season ticket holders. Tickets from resellers usually start at $150 making this one of college football’s most expensive events. Good news is that the fans have such high expectations that if they aren’t undefeated later in the year, you could find some deals on the home slate. Parking is up there too as a stadium lot will cost $25 with other cheaper options harder to find. The program was an outrageous $10. Concessions too were a bit higher than normal, but not excessive ($4 for hot dog, $3.50 for water).
Cost Ranking: 3.5 out of 8
Fan Support
A sellout streak of 220 games that dates back to 1973 says it all. And this isn’t one of those “announced sellout streak” (or a Nebraska Cornhuskers one). Watch on TV as you’ll hardly find an empty seat and that was the case for our game as it was a legit sellout. Even after a two hour lightning delay, the stadium was back to about 90% full when the game resumed in the second half. Notre Dame is a brand name that doesn’t just have fans locally or alumni, many follow the team nationally for a variety of reasons.
Fan Support Ranking: 8 out of 8
Atmosphere
This is a college football experience like no other and generally calm, relaxed tailgating builds to a crescendo of atmosphere and noise inside the stadium. I got goosebumps when the band came out, made the ND emblem and then blasted the “Notre Dame Victory March” as the players ran onto the field. Everyone claps along to the fight song and it is led by the large student section in the northwest corner. Through the game, they help lead various cheers and chants like “Let’s go Irish” and “We are…N-D”. Fans sway their arms before kickoff and pump their fist up and down like the Fighting Irish logo when the band plays Celtic Chant at random times during the game. It looks awesome when the students are all sync. After a touchdown, you can also see many of them doing pushups while being held up. Notre Dame Stadium gets very loud in spite of architecture that does not induce noise (and thus, it is never a deafening place). I couldn’t get over the impressive resolve of the fans. They were treated to a grueling game in which the Irish turned the ball over three times inside the 10 and they just kept coming back with similar volumes of noise and support. You don’t see that in many places.
Atmosphere Ranking: 14 out of 14
Other Stuff
Where to start with one of the most tradition-rich schools in the country, some events include Trumpets Under The Dome on Friday, a popular pep rally Friday Night, Midnight Drummer Circle and then the player walk before the game after Mass in the Basilica…..Those famous gold helmets are painted by students the Monday before each home game…..Outside Notre Dame Stadium are the flags of each opponent to be played that season…Before entering the field, Notre Dame players walk down the steps of their locker room and a sign says “Play Like a Champion Today”, with a list of National Championship teams above that gold sign….Speaking of the field, it is very simple: no center logo and just diagonal lines in the end zone….At the start of the 4th quarter, an Indiana State Police Sergeant Tim McCarthy makes an important safety message for after the game. The stadium goes totally silent and the Sergeant makes a very corny joke which is followed by raucous laughter…The school has graduated 98.74% of its football players since 1962.
Game
This was a crazy, frustrating game. Notre Dame started with the ball and tore down field. As they were about to score an easy opening TD, Cierre Wood fumbled and USF returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. The Irish continued to stumble as a holding penalty nullified a running TD, then a few plays later the Bulls intercepted one in the end zone. South Florida went up 16-0 at a halftime that was far from uneventful. There were threats of thunderstorms all day and the first one came through at the half, which produced a lighting strike pretty close to the stadium. We had to wait two hours as fans were evacuated into the concourses and nearby buildings until the second strong storm came through. As the second half resumed, Notre Dame got a three and out, then marched down the field again to the USF 5. Remarkably, another interception was thrown, this time by Tommy Rees as the momentum was killed. The Irish were able to get on the board with a Michael Floyd touchdown, but a missed field goal at the end of the 3rd was the dagger as South Florida got an ensuing touchdown to go up 23-7. A touchdown midway through the fourth quarter could have made it a one-possession game, but the two point conversion was missed. As if things couldn’t get worse for Irish fans, lightning started in the distance and everyone was evacuated again for another 45 minutes. South Florida went on to win 23-20 despite being outgained 508-254. The five turnovers by the Irish were what decided the game. Michael Floyd had 12 catches for 154 yards and 2 TD for Notre Dame.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
