Oh. My. Goodness. 29-26 in 3OT?? The energy in Notre Dame Stadium
during those extra periods was as high at is has been all season. Not to
mention that campus is a much happier place after a win. Whew! That was WAAAAAY
too close for comfort! But a win is a win! GO IRISH!!
- Facebook
status of 95% of ND fans post-game
Now that we have that out of the way, it’s time to be objective. At
8-0, ranked 3rd in the country, Notre Dame football had more
momentum going into this game than any other game in our college careers. As
soon as the Irish took the field, the combination of team energy, the band, recorded
music, and *highlight videos*, should have created a home-field advantage that
made Pittsburgh feel like they had to play against 80,000 people instead of
just the 11 on the field. Notre Dame Stadium, however, missed the chance to set
the tone for the game.
Up until Notre Dame scored to make the score 20-12 Pittsburgh, the
atmosphere in Notre Dame Stadium resembled that of a theatrical performance. Fans
sat back and watched the Fighting Irish, listened to the band and politely
applauded the recognitions during TV timeouts. With the students and the band
in the north endzone, the fans in the south endzone seemed detached from the
rest of the stadium.
Warning to all traditional Notre Dame fans, cover your eyes. NOTRE
DAME NEEDS A VIDEO BOARD.
Please hear us out before you call the Dome and ask for us to be
expelled.
Tradition defines Notre Dame. Instead of just talking about the
incredible history of the school, why not show it to everyone? Let everyone see
the team hitting the iconic “Play Like A Champion Today Sign”, show Tim Brown
catching a touchdown pass vs. Michigan, or even Manti Te’o lighting up a
running back from Purdue.
During the long NBC media timeouts, show a highlight video of the
National Champion Men’s Club Volleyball team before bringing them on the
20-yard line where only one-fourth of the stadium can see them. Then, play a
quick pump-up video to get the fans excited for the offense to take the field. It’s
easy to do, and it keeps fans engaged throughout the seemingly endless media
timeouts. On a smaller scale, PA announcement can be brought to life with music
and video accompaniment.
On a related note, RECORDED MUSIC WORKS.
The band does a great job of playing energetic, popular songs that
students and fans love, but the piped-in music boosted the noise level in the
stadium to another level. Students, fans, and even the notorious “old alumni”
jumped up and down to Zombie Nation during overtime. Skip to 2:07 and try to tell us that music doesn't work.
Yes, the Pittsburgh game had enough drama and excitement to make a bad
high school prom jealous, but only in the waning moments of the game did the
stadium have the energy you would expect from an undefeated team in the middle
of a dream season. While a video board cannot be put in for the next game, more
effective uses of recorded music before kickoffs and key defensive plays throughout
the game would help energize the normally reserved Notre Dame crowd.
Finally, a message to Notre Dame fans who think we have lost our minds:
Don’t get mad at us. Bottle that anger, save it, and let it out when Wake
Forest comes to town. Yelling at us won’t help the team win, but yelling in the
stadium will.
