Terry,

I just got an email from USF letting me know that I managed to get tickets to the USF/Notre Dame game in September. I'm a big fan of TexanMark's tailgating guide, but he doesn't have anything for visiting South Bend. Any suggestions about must-see things for this trip?

Thanks,

USFFan

You might want to post on a ND board also.
Get a hotel asap. Sports bars create outdoor areas for football weekends, so you get the
tailgate feel. Last time I was there, last September for Purdue/ND we had a Taxi shuttle us around
as we wanted to avoid traffic. Friday night we hit the Linebacker bar and Saturday we went to
Between the Bun Sports Bar on 23, both are real close to the Stadium. Between the Bun has
a make your own Bloody Mary station, big ass drinks.

First, make sure that you book a hotel now. It is very difficult to find hotel rooms for ND home game weekends.

My suggestion is that you check Niles, Michigan and Elhart, Indiana for hotels if all South Bend hotels are full. I have even gone to as far away as Benton Harbor, Michigan and Plymouth, Indiana to find a hotel.

Second, try to buy a Joyce North or Joyce South parking pass from a scalper on Friday evening or very, very early (like 7-9 a.m.) on Saturday.

If that fails, try to obtain a Library lot parking pass. Otherwise, you will be relegated to the White Lots in the far north of campus and have to be shuttle bussed to the Stadium.

The best tailgating is in the Joyce lots, by far.


If you get there early enough on Friday, a campus tour is a must:



--Administration building ("Golden Dome").

--Basilica of the Sacred Heart (next door to the Dome).

--The Grotto (down the hill behind the Dome, next to a lake).

--Hammes Bookstore (a million people will be there on Saturday).

--Hesburgh Library ("Touchdown Jesus").

--Notre Dame Stadium (they have a Tunnel Tour--let you walk in).

--Sports Heritage Hall---- in the Joyce Center (next to the stadium). I recommend that you stop here for a sense of ND's history and traditions.

-- "The Gug"---ND's athletic center. It is first class, new facility and they have tours.

--"Trumpets under the Dome" at 4:00 p.m.---The ND Band's trumpet section lines the railings of the various floors inside the Dome and plays for the crowd inside the Administration Building.

--Pep Rally---It is usually held inside the Joyce Center, but sometimes is held inside Notre Dame Stadium (usually for USC games) or on the Irish Green.

It may be hokey and corny for non-ND fans (and many ND fans as well), but it is a very old tradition at ND. The football team, marching band (the whole thing), cheerleaders, etc...enter the arena. Many times celebrities likes like Dick Vitale and Regis Philbin are the guest speakers).

--Looking for bars? Go to the Linebacker, Rocco's or Fiddler's Hearth. They just finished Eddy Commons (south of the Stadium), which has a lot of new bars and restaurants.

--If you are still awake and want something to do at midnight, go see the Drummers Circle at midnight in front of the Dome.


On Saturday, get to campus very early in the morning.


--Go see Knute Rockne's grave. Check out the statutes of "First Down Moses", Sitting with Moose, the "Ned" (Father Joyce) and "Ted" (Father Heburgh) statues are a must (these two priests ran ND football for decades).

Around the stadium, statues of four of college football's Hall of Fame coaches—Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, and Holtz—are now situated near four entrances.


--The Marching Band plays on the steps of Bond Hall--don't miss it.

--Trumpets under the Dome happens again on Saturday.

--Watch the football team march to the Stadium from pre-game Mass at the Basilica. ("Players' Walk")

--Watch the Marching Band march into the Stadium from the Bond Hall concert on the steps. ("Band Entrance").

--The Knights of Columbus steak sandwiches are very good. They are sold by the students on campus at several locations.

--Get inside the Stadium early enough to see the pre-game activities, such as the Marching Band's entrance, the Irish Guard raising the U.S. flag for the National Anthem and the team coming out of the Tunnel.

--As the game ends, watch the team line up near the Student Section for the Victory March and Alma Mater, win or lose.

--The ushers at ND are very, very friendly and helpful. You will hear "Welcome to Notre Dame" about two hundred times.

--Be careful, the folks at ND are very strict about bringing alcohol into the Stadium. You will be ejected if found out. They will also eject anyone for bad behavior.


If you are looking for things to do on Sunday morning, check out the College Football Hall of Fame (while it is still there, it is moving to Atlanta).

If you missed the campus tour on Friday, you can do it on Sunday morning.


I have attached a few links with information on campus and game day activities. The Bleacher Report article is not bad. The Wayfaring map has all of the attractions listed and marked.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your trip to Notre Dame.


http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/show/12268


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/44908...notre-dame


http://gameday.nd.edu/experience/athletic/


http://www.visitsouthbend.com/things-to-...l-weekends


http://nd360.nbcsports.com/video1/

Thanks Terry
I am also going to the game but staying in chicago. was thinking of taking bus or train down saturday morning instead of driving. Any advice on either of those options

No, I usually either drive to South Bend from Baton Rouge or fly directly into South Bend Airport.

I would either rent a car or take the train from Chicago. It is about 90 miles.

Thank you, Terry! Wow - they really jack up the hotel rates on Notre Dame home Saturdays!

Unfortunately, I have to keep my travel plans somewhat flexible, so I don't know if I can get to South Bend in time to see any of the Friday festivities. Fortunately it's a 3 day weekend, so I can take advantage of some time on Sunday.

USFFan

They double all normal hotel rates on ND home football weekends.

I'm all set for accomodations - thank you again for your help!

USFFan

My tickets arrived in the mail today, Section 115, which is the corner of the end zone:



Terry, what section is your .sig picture from? I'm not sure which section has a view of Touchdown Jesus.

Looking forward to visiting the place where Rockne, Leahy and Hornung made their names...

USFFan

Section 122 or 123, same endzone as you but opposite corner.

On the diagram, the tunnel is the on the north side, the side where the Hesburgh Library (Touchdown Jesus) is located. You are in the southeast corner of Notre Dame Stadium. You will have a pretty nice view.

Enjoy the trip. I think you will enjoy the sights, the history/tradition and find the fans pretty friendly.

(08-15-2011 11:09 PM)TerryD Wrote:  Section 122 or 123, same endzone as you but opposite corner.

On the diagram, the tunnel is the on the north side, the side where the Hesburgh Library (Touchdown Jesus) is located. You are in the southeast corner of Notre Dame Stadium. You will have a pretty nice view.

Enjoy the trip. I think you will enjoy the sights, the history/tradition and find the fans pretty friendly.

I'll vouch and say the ND fans I've met during the Pitt-ND games in Pittsburgh are Grade A fans. I'd also like to make a trip up to South Bend. Maybe next year i'll head up there. Great info in this thread Terry.

(08-15-2011 11:09 PM)TerryD Wrote:  Section 122 or 123, same endzone as you but opposite corner.

On the diagram, the tunnel is the on the north side, the side where the Hesburgh Library (Touchdown Jesus) is located. You are in the southeast corner of Notre Dame Stadium. You will have a pretty nice view.

Enjoy the trip. I think you will enjoy the sights, the history/tradition and find the fans pretty friendly.

Thanks again for all of the info, Terry. I'm really looking forward to the trip. I'm not going to be there in time for anything on Friday and will drive over from Chicago on Saturday morning, so we'll see what I can accomplish, but I'm definitely going to go back on Sunday morning before I drive back to the airport.

USFFan

One thing that you may notice as different about Notre Dame Stadium is that you will find:

---No advertisements

---No jumbotron (so, no replays)

---No logo on the field

-- Very tiny scoreboards

--Diagonal stripes only in the end zones


This is intentional and is a very strong sentiment on the part of ND folks. They dislike jumbotrons and things like that.

They are seen as abominations and as things that take away from the game itself and the classic "feel" of the stadium.

Sometimes, fans of other teams are surprised by this and wonder why ND is so "backward" in this regard. It is an intentional choice. ND has a strong policy against such things.

Like I said during all the Big Ten expansion talk last year, ND makes a lot of money, sure. But, they could make millions more with a jumbotron, allowing advertising inside the stadium and selling the naming rights to the stadium.

They just choose not to do so because they think those things take away from the tradition of Notre Dame Stadium.

Ill be there got my tix today section 116

By the way, the bench "seats" are very narrow and you will be jammed in.

Welcome to 1930!

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.

OT, but as long as TerryD is here...Any idea what ND hockey is going to do? Independent? Join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference? Hockey East?

They haven't officially decided yet. The rumors are one of the first two options you mention.

(08-15-2011 10:18 PM)usffan Wrote:  My tickets arrived in the mail today, Section 115, which is the corner of the end zone

... I am extremely envious! To get to see our Bulls play in one the most 'hallowed' stadiums in college football.

Have a great time, and GO BULLS!

(08-16-2011 03:03 PM)TerryD Wrote:  Like I said during all the Big Ten expansion talk last year, ND makes a lot of money, sure. But, they could make millions more with a jumbotron, allowing advertising inside the stadium and selling the naming rights to the stadium.

Thanks for that info, Terry. I've seen a million Notre Dame games on TV, but had never really noticed the absence of all those things you listed.

ND surely could make millions per year if they had advertising/naming rights etc. associated with the stadium, so this does indeed belie the notion that you guys are "all about the money".

Truth is, money matters to everyone, of course, but there's probably some anti-Catholic sentiment behind the belief that ND cares more about it than other schools.