(09-02-2011 07:47 AM)TerryD Wrote:  Have a good (but hopefully not TOO good) trip this weekend, usffan and Cubanbull.

Let me know your impressions of ND's campus and game day atmosphere.

Thanks, Terry! My flight doesn't leave for another 6 hours, but I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything else. The camera's charged up and the memory card has plenty of room. I'll have to see about posting pictures later.

Rumor has it road construction's going to make driving a nightmare. Good thing I'm not going to be in a rush to get out of town.

Thanks again for all the help with things to do,

USFFan

South Bend construction on roads leading out of the south side of campus is supposed to be bad.

You would think that they would plan these things better. Head north to the Indiana Toll Road via Douglas Road. Here is a map.

http://postcardexchange.net/university-o...me-campus/

(09-02-2011 12:44 PM)TerryD Wrote:  South Bend construction on roads leading out of the south side of campus is supposed to be bad.

You would think that they would plan these things better. Head north to the Indiana Toll Road via Douglas Road. Here is a map.

http://postcardexchange.net/university-o...me-campus/

Thanks again, Terry. My plan is to park on the north side and head to Gino's East in Granger to grab a deep dish pizza for dinner before finding a place to watch the end of the Oregon/LSU game.

USFFan

Here is a video of the Trumpets in the Dome for the USF guys going to the game:


http://www.ndtrumpets.org/


It is extremely crowded in there (not for the claustrophobic) but kind of cool to see on Friday and Saturday during home game weekends.

I want USF to win this one (but I have Floyd/Riddick from ND on my college fantasy team...so I'm rooting for both guys to light it up hahah)

go Bulls!

Terry, I can't thank you enough for all of the tips. I tried my best to take everything in, since I don't really know when I'll go back.



I don't know if they do it for every home game, but it was cool to see the game displayed prominently on the College Football Hall of Fame.

Since I flew into Chicago Midway late on Friday night (after midnight, the car rental places were even closed!), I stayed at a hotel nearby and rented a car first thing Saturday morning. By the time we got to campus, it wasn't worth doing anything other than parking in the White lots, but we walked to the campus from there instead of waiting for a shuttle bus. We immediately encountered this sign:



which I thought was unique until I saw 500 variations on this theme over the course of the (very long) day. It didn't take long to get the obligatory shots of the Dome:



the Basilica:



the Grotto (I didn't take a picture - it felt disrespectful), Touchdown Jesus:



First down Moses:



and the coaches statues:



Rockne



Leahy



Parseghian



and Holtz (with a fun little modification!)

I looked for Rockne's grave, but couldn't find it. I did find a memorial for him:



I saw the Leprechaun, Notre Dame cheerleaders and the Irish Guard on campus, but couldn't get the camera fired up fast enough to get a decent picture. I did find our mascot in front of the library:



but couldn't get back far enough to get the top of Touchdown Jesus because of the pool (which Rocky pretended to drink out of - he really interacted with fans of both teams well). I even found our truck sticking out of the Knute Rockne gate:





I caught the pregame concert by the marching band (as well as the plaiding of the freshmen and seniors), which was fortunate because they never got to perform their halftime show due to the weather. I also explored the memorabilia, seeing all of the awards (kind of awkward to see a trophy for Charlie Weis in there) and, of course, a Heisman trophy:



I got a few obligatory shots of the library, dome and Basilica from the stadium:





And was inside for the best of the pregame festivities:



(I guess you can't tell that it says "N D" that they players run through)



The fans and the hospitality were tremendous - EASILY the nicest hosts I've ever encountered (topping Penn State, which I wasn't sure could be done). The weather - not so much:



That picture doesn't do justice to how dark the clouds were. When we evacuated, I got to see more of the Joyce Center than I ever wanted:



Of course, that was better than sitting out in that pouring rain. I did manage to explore the stadium some more, and found a cool display for the consensus All Americans:



While I was thrilled with the result, I'm not sure I can take a dozen games like that. As Cuban said, it was pretty clear that USF was following the "don't let Floyd beat us deep" philosophy (except on that first TD), and it was amazing that he had the day he had with double coverage all day. Then again, with double coverage, I might have liked to see not play BOTH defenders off of him and at least chucked him at the line with one guy. The plan seemed to be that once ND was in the red zone, they used the back of the end zone to contain Floyd, which forced the offense to seek other options. As quo pointed out, it was the same strategy Penn State used against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl and, for that matter, what Lou Holtz did to Miami in 1988. I didn't agree with several of Skip's decisions - not going for it on 4th and goal from the 1 but going for it on 4th and 1 from midfield and attempting a 52 yard FG in very windy conditions - but I can't argue with the results. As for concerns about USF (and at the risk of angering our Big East brethren), I'm not sure we'll face a defense as good as Notre Dame's the rest of the year. I'll worry if BJ struggles against Ball State next week. While people seem to want to rip this guy, I wonder if any other college quarterback has started games on the road at Florida State, Miami and Notre Dame and gone home with a win. If you had told me two years ago that USF would win a game in South Bend by being more disciplined than Notre Dame, I would have laughed in your face. I won't include some of the action shots, but from my angle Daniel's TD pass was a miracle. When he threw it, the defender was behind and inside of Landi, and even the shot before the ball gets there it looks like he's covered perfectly. I'll just include the shot that made the whole trip worth it:



After 6 hours of "football" and facing a walk back to the White parking lot along with the announcer saying that the band would not perform, I didn't stick around to watch the alma mater from the Notre Dame players. We managed to make it to Gino's East in Granger for some deep dish pizza before calling it a night.

The Hall of Fame is worth a visit once. They definitely seemed to cater to visiting fans:





It was amazing to see all of the trophies, individual as well as each bowl trophy, inside and more plaques than you could shake a stick at. I took a picture of one, not knowing that I would learn of his passing only a few hours later:



I also learned a couple of things. I didn't realize that the first football used in college football was round:



(imagine trying to throw a forward pass with some of those early balls), or that the football field was once literally a grid:



So thank you again, Terry. I'll tell you what - if Notre Dame will agree to come play a game against USF in Tampa, I'll happily serve as your guide. Our campus obviously doesn't hold up, but we've got some great beaches nearby and an awesome steak restaurant, and for all your help I'd even treat you to a dinner at Bern's!

USFFan

very nice pics thank you!

Definitely nice photos. I have heard a lot of self professed "ND haters" or people who had a negative impression of ND who have gone to a game and really were surprised by the campus and the hospitality of the fans, stadium ushers and others.

They came back from their trip and stated that their "hatred" of ND was lessened by attending a game there.

Not all such folks have expressed such sentiments, mind you, just some of them.