Irish win!

Today was the first game of the 2013-2014 Notre Dame football season, and man, were we both psyched, or what?!

We were not quite as psyched about the weather forecast, which was originally calling for temperatures close to 90° and high humidity, which would have made for a pretty miserable day at Notre Dame Stadium. However, the forecast moderated a bit, and it ended up being not quite as warm, but still very humid. It wasn’t a huge surprise to see dark clouds move in and we got a little rain. It wasn’t a total disaster, because we sat in the truck and ate our lunch, and by the time we were ready to head into the Stadium, it was starting to let up. We were bummed that we didn’t get to hook up with some of Ken’s coworkers, though, who were tailgating in the parking lot. It would have been great to stop by and say hi and have a beverage with them, but the weather just didn’t cooperate with that. Hopefully next game!

It was great to be back at ND for football, and our new seats were quite good. Another of Ken’s coworkers sold us his and his Mom’s season tickets for this year (face value, no shenanigans there!), so we actually have ND season tickets...at least for one year! We are about a third of the way up in the end zone opposite the Notre Dame student section. Good seats!

The woman sitting next to me was from (I think) New Jersey, and it was her first time at Notre Dame. Her daughter, Lucy, was right behind us, and Lucy is thinking of attending ND. Ellen had lots of questions for me, and we enjoyed chatting. It was nice to hear her say that her and Lucy have had a great experience at ND, and that everyone has been very nice. She said she really enjoyed talking to me and appreciated me trying to answer her questions as best I could. It was my pleasure, Ellen, and I hope we see you and Lucy in the future!

The sun finally came back out, and let me tell you, it got hot and humid! It wasn’t like I had heavy clothes on, but I was still getting overheated. I can’t even imagine how bad it was for all the players. Ouch! After we got home and got stuff unloaded, we both took cool showers just to rinse off and get cool. Felt great...I bet the players enjoyed their showers, too!

Of course, the best thing of all was that we got the win. ND is 1-0 on the season, as is the Lucky Underwear (yes, it’s back!). I can honestly say that they have a lot of work to do, because the defense was a little porous, Tommy Rees didn’t always read the openings well, and we struggled a bit on offense. We’ll see what happens in the coming games, but I’m guessing that Brian Kelly is going to work the hell out of them this week. Love you, Irish, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all season...and seeing you WIN!

I have to say that I am about wiped out. Game Day is always fun, but it’s quite a hike into the Stadium from the parking lot (no guilt about skipping my workout today!). With today’s heat and humidity, it just about did me in. The next home game is September 21st against Michigan State, so maybe it will be a little cooler for that game. Fingers crossed!

A fun day, and Football Fangirl is very happy!

Tomorrow is a tour of the State Theater with Drew, and yes, there WILL be pictures of the pink-tiled women’s bathroom!