(The Rock Report | Notre Dame Football News) – Part 2 of Cheer, Cheer (but not too loud) is devoted to fan responses (so many that the comments split into two pages), one of whom correctly pointed out that Notre Dame stadium was plenty loud in 1988 with just 59k fans. The difference? The team was winning and it wasn’t taboo to stand and cheer.
So they don’t get lost, here are the fan takes on cheering.
ASchade The so-called reasoning behind the installation of a jumbotron is to create a greater “home field advantage.” How the hell is that going to happen if we aren’t allowed to stand, scream and cheer right now? I have been told to sit down or quiet down at least once at each home game I attend. The breaking point was actually being removed from my section at a recent home game because of complaints of me and those with me standing and blocking the view of spectators insisting that sitting and whispering is the only acceptable way of watching a Notre Dame football game. We were given the option by the “understanding” usher of being forced to watch the remainder of the game in the last rows of the stadium if we wanted to continue such “raucous” behavior or sit on our hands and not disturb other “fans” Notre Dame experience. How is a jumbotron going to solve this? Can those in charge possibly be this out of touch?
Drasail2 I was in the fancy seats behind the SC bench at the 2005 game, and I fondly remember nearly got thrown out for screaming at the top of my lungs for most of the game.
68domer I can only add Ditto to my recent experiences at ND Stadium. I “won” the season ticket lottery a few years back and had seats in Section 24 thru the Weis years. My brother and I (from Oklahoma & Wyoming) took turns attending home games but we finally got so disgusted with the ushers in our section that I gave up those tickets.
dp Wow, so great to read this article. I have too been removed from a game because I was standing and cheering loudly on 3rd downs. The rest of the people around me were shocked at what was happening. I even turned around twice and as politely as possible defended myself to the upset fan…what is wrong with cheering? They eventually got an usher and as I held my ground with fans watching and defending me, I was asked to come with them.
JGoforth Not long before kick off, a “middle aged” woman made a comment about me standing to her husband. I ignored it. Another comment, I ignored it. And another, to which I turned around and asked if there was a problem with me standing. I was unsure about the policy of ND games, and from the looks of the fans around me, I felt out of place standing. I am not a real tall guy, maybe 6′, but she implied I was the size of Manute Bol. I told her and her husband that I was going to stand, and that I was sorry. She then said she was going to get an usher and have me moved. Before she could, I went to the usher and told him my quandary, explaining how far I had come and how in awe I was. He told me one thing, “you sit down when the band sits down”. Fair enough. It did not take long to figure out the band never sits down.
Jamie At the 2004 Purdue game, on 1st down, I stood, made noise, and did the same on second down. The usher in the section, whose name was Bob Ward (I asked him for this name), told me I needed to sit down because the person behind me could not see. I told him I didn’t think she minded if I stood, because she had not complained. And I mentioned that I was trying to help the team on defense–at a critical point in the game. Bob said she could not see and I must sit down. I then revealed to him that the person behind me was my mother (she was), and turned and asked her (so Bob could hear) “Hey Mom, do you mind if I stand and cheer?” She obviously said no. Then Bob said that the people behind her could not see. So I asked them (so Bob could hear) if they minded if I stood and cheered. They said no. So Bob let me stand.
KyIrish This article is a long time coming. I get dirty looks from the ushers every year, and I’m 55. My son and I have to tone it down when we think we’re going to get in trouble for being too exuberant. Sad.
Bobby I almost got kicked out of the USF game for standing while the scoreboard said “On Your Feet”. Absolute joke. Had an 70+ year old usher threaten to get security.
SRND94 I have been told way too often to “sit down,” or “be quiet.” I honestly think my home game-watches might be louder than the South End Zone sometimes.I have more fun at away games where we can stand, cheer and scream. ND fans are there to support the team and be as loud as possible.
Todd L. The last game I attended was with my sister during the Weis era. Every time we stood and cheered some fella from behind us would yell “down in front”! By halftime we felt so unwelcome we left.
Dan L There has been a drastic change in atmosphere inside the stadium, and out for that matter, in recent years. I have been asked to sit down MANY times, I have been told I am being to loud, and have even been told to turn my t-shirt inside out because it had an offensive word on it, the word was “damn”. That’s kind of sad actually, that I don’t fell comfortable in a place that for many years I have always professed to be the “Greatest Place In The World”.
Gbyrne Do you want to know how to really get the crowd going at your home opener — at the first time out get your public address guy to say… the administration of ND honors someone responsible for contiruting to the success at ND…today we are honoring the cleaning crew from the Morris Inn”…..boy does that get the energy going…or how about using an important time out to salute a law professor, that gets my “cheering genes going”.
Hopssays: I am 74 years old and saw my first ND game in 1946 (Army in Yankee Stadium) and continue to go to any game I am lucky enough to get a ticket for. Stop with the “warm, fuzzy stuff”and make everyone in the Stadium know “WE ARE ND” !!! Lose the flower beds,the pretty yellow seats and the clapping hands suggesting we”make noise”. Notre Dame stands for so many great things———-leave the fan base alone and allow us to”SHAKE DOWN THE THUNDER”
TNT65 If you are told to sit, just politely tell the person you sit occasionally at Sacred Heart, which is Church. This is the home of the Fighting Irish!
Frank I’m 76. Codger enuf? I’ll never complain about the ND fans who want to shout FOR EVERY PLAY. That’s their privilege, and the team deserves the support! I’ll watch their backs if that ‘s what it takes. “Enthusiasm . . . from ‘possessed by a god’.” So let’s not lump all us codgers in the same class. If it comes to that, I can still outshout at least half the whippersnappers, undergrad, grad or alumni. Really. And damned if I’ll let any usher feel comfortable who tries to tone me down. Oh, and I find jumbotrons more distracting than inspiring. All those presentations too.
DCIrish says:
Count me among the raucous. Energy comes form the crowd feeling that they are part of the game, that their cheering actually makes a difference; take away their right to express excitement and you drain away that energy.
I used to attend all the Redskin games at the old RKF stadium. A goofy clattery old place with a hokey band, ~58K seats and a lot of twitchy sight lines. But it rocked. It literally rocked and every fan felt he was a part of the team on the field, and the opponents knew it. Between plays and during timeouts you could talk to your neighbors. Amazing. Now we have FedEx Field: 90K seats and it stinks. Jumbotrons and every other imaginable distraction. The cacophony is enervating: there’s never a moment of quiet, so you can’t possibly talk to the folks around you. Finally, I dumped my season tickets. Of course part of it is that the Redskins aren’t much good, but the lousy stadium experience was the killer.
We don’t want the stadium experience to be unpleasant for families, but bear in mind that the real family experience is being there with other ND fans. My family and I made lots of friends every time we attended a game there. When we’re all focused on the game and involved in supporting the team, we *create* a family in the whole stadium. The Jumbotron and constant racket turn the family into zombies. It isn’t worth it, believe me. It’s bad enough at the pro level, where the athletes are more cynical. At the college level, having tens of thousands of people screaming for your side makes a big difference for a 19-year-old kid.
Let’s keep ND special.
Fans standing and yelling themselves hoarse: Yes.
Jumbotron and other faux excitement: No.
wardo4 says:
Stadium is soooo politically correct. They escort people out for rain delays nowadays. 1/2 hour to commemorate or honor some crap every week (maybe they’ll run out at some point). It really is a joke, but people still pay top dollar so everything will stay the same for eternity. I think of it as going to church or library.
terry says:
The last game I saw there was in 1989. ND beat Pitt I think it was 45-7. Even if I could get tickets (which I can’t) I wouldn’t go again – it sounds intolerable.
Those ushers are just doing what they’ve been told to do, which has ALWAYS been the case. Some of them have probably been there since I was a freshman, back in 1961, and I would just assume that a lot of the gigs have been handed down in the family, if such is possible.
From their perspective – you’ve got a job in a tough economy and you get to watch Notre Dame games free, so you are going to do what you’re told. To me the question is – who is the person who tells them to act like (insert uncomplimentary noun
The NBC connection means an unending stream of commercials. EVERYBODY has to make comments about anything and nothing, there are always privileged people to point out on camera, I can’t even remember the last time I heard the traditional silly remark in the 3rd or 4th quarter about traffic from the Indiana State Police to which the student section gives the traditional groan, (yeah – it’s been going on that long – at least 50 years!)
So to sum up – it sounds politically correct, (good one wardo4), we know how expensive it is, and it sounds boring.
3 good reasons to stay home. Of course now home is 1200 miles away, so it makes it that much easier.
But the hot dogs were really good.
alsatiannd says:
Take out the benches. They used to call them “stands” for a reason.
a68domer says:
I can only add Ditto to my recent experiences at ND Stadium. I “won” the season ticket lottery a few years back and had seats in Section 24 thru the Weis years. My brother and I (from Oklahoma & Wyoming) took turns attending home games but we finally got so disgusted with the ushers in our section that I gave up those tickets.
wbroder1 says:
This discussion has actually been taken to a national stage on CNNSI in their Truth and Rumors section. Perhaps commenting there will highlight the hypocrisy of the ND admin lobbying for a jumbotron to increase noise, while having the ushers enforce a noise cap when someone complains about a fan being too loud.
kyndfan says:
It’s sad that we even have to have this discussion. If Jack is serious about home field advantage, he will implement what the usher told JGoforth, you can stand as long as the band is standing. If some old timers, not all but some, don’t like the noise and abstructed view they should stay home and watch in the quiet comfort of their living rooms.
I was at the msu game this year, sec 107. I shouted, screamed, stood, jumped, and noone ever complained to me. I actually apologized to the elderly couple to my right after Blanton’s int. because I nearly knocked them over with all the jumping, hi fives, and fist pumping.
terry says:
This Saturday eve will find me in my easy chair tuned to NBC. Two steps away is the fridge, which will contain sufficient brewskis (@ about $1.50 per) to tide me over thru the next few hours. If I decide I HAVE to have a hot dog or two that problem also can be speedily addressed.
Should I have to pee I will get up, walk outside and do so.
Life is good.
mw says:
If you want a jumbotron go to an IU game, and there is plenty of room to sit and watch the game. But when I pay $100+ for a ticket, $40 to park and tailgate. I want to get my moneys worth, I want to Jump and cheer and yell. If they installing a jumbotron take away from the history of the stadium. Everytime I watch an IU game in Bloomington and see the jumbotron and the ads, I’m glad ND doesn’t have that. Whats next hotdog races, if directing your attention to the northwest 20 yard line isn’t enough. I try to go to one game a year and every time for the last six years I have been told to sit down. Including the South Florida game with two minutes left in the pouring rain with hardly anyone around me.
Tom says:
ND has one of the worst stadium atmospheres I have ever seen. The students deserve a lot of credit for their enthusiasm, but they are outnumbered by the knitting circle set that has one foot in the grave. It’s really pathetic when ND fans have to point to a game 6 years ago to make the point that their fans can be loud (and 2005 USC WAS loud!). A few big games aside, ND’s stadium is like a morgue.
dbrirish says:
My challenge is to Jack Swarbrick to address all the ushers and security before the game that this is a Football Stadium and fans setting on their a@@es during critical points will not be tolerated. I am setting in the sixth row behind the USC bench and I fully intend on making a lot of noise.
Brian says:
GET A JUMBOTRON….. blast current music, make the game a production and people will have fun and make ND stadium a home field advantage again. My family has been attending ND games for as long as I can remember. My son chose the University of Virginia over Notre Dame last spring and I have been to two UVa games, my first ever, this season. They have been lousy but he turns to me last week when UVa upset Georgia Tech and said you know…. ND needs a jumbotron, music and they need to make games this fun! Now we have been to many, many games and I have to say he’s right. Go to Penn State and you’ll see a full blown production, its loud, current and fun! Your student body is 10% of the stadium, do some things differently to offset that shortcoming….Here’s a list of suggestions….
1. Get a jumbotron!
2. Blast current music and get people into the game, get a dance team to put some energy into that stadium!
3. Quit putting us to sleep every timeout by introducing the freaking “President of the Elkhart Ruritan club or the garden club of Mishawaka! They do this no matter what the situation is…a complete buzz kill!
4. Night games please! If that certain crowd doesn’t like the noise or night air, then stay home and put some people in the seats that want to cheer and have a good time.
5. Please, please, please quit with the “We are” ND chant, It’s old, slow and tired!….zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
6. Im fine with Tim McCarthy, keep some tradition, but get over yourself ND… its a boring venue right now.
marleyman says:
I have made almost the exact comments before, Brian. My brother and I have attended many games at Penn State and ND. No Comparison! ND is quiet, dark, and has the worst scoreboards in college football. Penn State is loud, raucous, and still maintains a family atmosphere. I was recently up for the Air Force game with some first time visitors. Their first comment?? What…No Jumbotron?? That means no instant replay!! They got it…why don’t others?
O-Dog says:
I have also been to several UVA games (inluding the GaTech game last week). Possibly because there were a couple thousand empty seats for their “homecoming game”, UVA is not a very loud place. It is arguably “louder” now – including this past Saturday – but that is ENTIRELY because they got a new coach, have been generally playing better b/c of the coaching change, and were actually beating a ranked team (for the first time in however many years)! My point is that they are not louder b/c of the jumbotron, they are louder b/c of the product on the field and the direction of the program (and maybe b/c they were all drunk b/c it was homecoming). That stadium has truly been a morgue the last 10 years…and they’ve had a jumbotron since 2000.
That being said, maybe putting a jumbotron in ND stadium with some loud pumped in noise will make the sissy-nannies complain and stay home and thereby result in more younger, A.D.D.-people filling the stadium…so the result may be beneficial!
Norm says:
Can you yell without standing? I thnk so. Jack Swarbrick was asking for fan noise. The discussion has turned into an argument for standing. Some fans stand when, in my opinion, nothing significant is happening. Also, there is a time to yell, like, when the opponent is calling a play. Then you might disrupt the snap. Go Irish. I hope you yell your heads off Saturday night.
Fitz says:
My great grandma Fitz, God rest her, used to go to ND games way back in the 20’s. She said on their tickets it said no alcohol but she swears they were about the only ones who weren’t carried out of there on stretchers dead drunk haha. I guess my point being this Saturday night against USC, stadium rules be damned! I want that atmosphere to be electric and one worthy of being home to a BCS team. if a few fans have to be kicked out by ogre ushers for the greater good so be it. Be a martyr for the Notre Dame cause if need be! They can’t kick everybody out right? Stand, cheer and show your pride. For those who want a quiet atmosphere at a football game, honestly don’t go to a ND-USC night game, it’s just common sense people. Sell your tickets cheaply to a college kid for the greater good of your team. Would you go to the Super Bowl and expect it to sound like a tennis match? Go Irish!
IrishTL says:
I don’t understand who goes to a game and doesn’t yell for their team. Like my mama used to say this is a football game not a tea party. (Her reply when she was told not to make noise at a football game and she’s 65) I will guarantee they will not throw everyone out of the game for sreaming their heads off. We would look like absolute clowns on national TV with a game being played and noone in the stands.
Norm says:
Can you yell without standing? I thnk so. Jack Swarbrick was asking for fan noise. The discussion has turned into an argument for standing. Some fans stand when, in my opinion, nothing significant is happening. Also, there is a time to yell, like, when the opponent is calling a play. Then you might disrupt the snap. Go Irish. I hope you yell your heads off Saturday night. And at other games.
DC Irish says:
Class of ’69 and noise was never a problem, although sneaking alcohol in was a breeze then. I was no Jumbotron until the Army game at Yankee Stadium last season. That fabulous HD board was not used for ads and was not used for artificial cheers, and was frankly a great experience, a view shared by my roommates who are also regular game attenders in SB. And for those who say “tradition,” remember that Rockne was the inventor of the sports endorsement, with everything from equipment to Studebakers. We’d be on our 2d generation Jumbo if he were alive. But the biggest noise killers are the interminable faux awards ceremonies at every time out; they kill whatever buzz there is and keep the band from playing (still the best noise inducer) and the cheer leaders from leading. Limit it to 2x a game and you’ll be on the right path. And winning more would help.
J P Bryant says:
Are you kidding me we can no longer stand at ND games. I stand at home and yell when things go right when I can actually watch the game. In fact when we beat Mich St I actually stood up and yelled in my hotel room (of course then immediately realized what I had just done). I have only been to a couple of ND home games in my lifetime I am 43 yrs old but the ones I have been to I sat on half of one of my butt cheeks so sitting wasnt much of an option either and besides the only time you are supposed to be quiet is right before the offense snaps the ball once the catch is made go crazy. If its too loud your too old stay at home and watch it on your big screen in your recliner.
bob says:
Did Rudy’s dad stay seated when he ran onto the field. NO. Stand up and cheer for the irish long and loud.
Scott says:
Mr. Swarbrick, here is a suggestion for you. Change the ushers’ attitude regarding sitting and whispering. This will go a long way toward creating a home-field advantage. Although I was never “asked to move seats/removed from a game”, I did recieve a number of dirty looks from the user in my section. I simply returned the dirty look and won the staring match :o)
Justin says:
Last year i had an older Gentleman literally trying to start a fight with me during the Utah game because i was standing. The pathetic part is that the Utah fans in front of me were standing the entire game and the only ones defending my right to stand besides my brother and father. The man actually told me that my standing and cheering did absolutly nothing for the team, makes you wonder if thats what 60K plus fans in that stadium really believe, thus the quiet atmosphere at times… i can tell you that when 80K+ cheer loud, i.e. the blocked punt in the Utah game, or the Shark TD vs. UCLA, that we can have one of the louder stadiums i’ve been in.
Scott says:
Here is another suggestion for those of you who desire a Dumbotron…. stay at home and watch the game on the Dumbotron in your living room. Personally, the best thing about Notre Dame Stadium is the fact that there is NO Dumbotron there.
terry says:
Right on! To put a dumbotron in the ND stadium would be a slap in the face to all the memories of every student who has ever gone to a game there.
I remember the Syracuse game (they had Ernie Davis) in 1962 when we won the game on a field goal after time had expired – the ND kicker had missed a field goal on the final play of the game but there was a roughing the kicker penalty and the ball was moved 15 yards closer and we won 17-15. The whole place went NUTS and we stormed the field and the ushers had sense enough just to get out of the way.
omt – those new colored helmets are silly, now matter what corporatespeak is offered up about them.
mikes1160 says:
Courtesy of my late grandfather, we had season tickets in Section 23 (south end zone area, home side) for over fifty years (I’m fifty, for what it’s worth) till we gave them up last year. In all my years attending games (late 60s to ’09), we never had a problem yelling at the top of our lungs. However, I could gaze over and look at the folks between the 20s on our side and see literally no one standing and minimum noise. It literally is the blue bloods at ND Stadium who are responsible for complaining to ushers and sitting on their hands. So to all who sit in Sections 30 to 25: start using your lungs and get off your butts.
Phil Kowalis says:
Brian, While I respect your opinion, I have to say you have never been more wrong. Adding a jumbotron and making the game a “production” does not add excitement, all it does is take away the atmosphere of the college football. ND HAS THE BEST BAND IN THE LAND and pumping in music would just remove the band from the game. The band is what provides the energy for the college football atmosphere. removing them from the game in favor of piped in music and a jumbotron would just make it… well another boring NFL game. As for the standing and cheering at games, I attended the home opener against USF. While I did not notice anyone saying anything about me standing and screaming like a crazy person my daughters said they were both told by people behind us to sit down. They told me about this during the rain delay and I just could not believe it. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO STAND AND SUPPORT THE IRISH THEN STAY HOME AND GIVE YOUR TICKETS TO SOMEONE THAT WANTS TO SUPPORT THE TEAM ON THE FIELD. While I will be watching from home as the Irish destroy USC this week, at least I will be able to jump, dance and cheer as much as I want to without anyone complaining about it. One last thing, stop the WE ARE ND chant, never. We must continue to remind everyone that we indeed are ND.
IrishKen says:
If it was a chess match, OK sit down and shut up. But come on, it’s a football game. sheesh
Bubba says:
I have been to quite e few ND games over the years and even went to the #1 vs #2 Florida St-ND game without tickets just forthe tailgating and to be part of it! I went to the Fiesta Bowl for the last National Championship and made 3 games last year. In particular at the Stanford game, early when we were still in in my Brother and I stood up for a 3rd down and the guy behind me had the nerve to tell me to sit down so he could see. I politely turned around told him that wasn’t happening I was their to cheer for the Irish! He started using foul language and started again, as his friend tried to shut him up my brother turned to him and gave him the polite ultimatum to shut his mouth and watch the game or he would shut it for him and he wouldn’t see anymore of it! his friend thanked my brother and I. Year after year I go, spend the weekend and have taken many others to enjoy the ND Experience only to go into the game and have to listen to an old timer downgrade the current Irish, complain about the noise and people standing up! It’s hard enough to get a ticket without having to put up with people who could sit in their retired folks homes and drink their geritol and watch the game. GET UP!! GET LOUD!! ROLL IRISH!!!!
Hank the Tank says:
Allow me to diverge:
You mention nothing about the over consumption of alcohol, drug use that makes most of these screamers repulsive. Standing for every play is OK, but standing the whole game makes the person behind you stand the whole game and listen to foul language on top of it. It needs to be cleaned up.
Yelling and cheering the team is ok, but the rest of it can be left out.
I actually laugh at the wimps performing their madness and wonder if it’s not the alcohol and/or drugs talking for them.
Joe33 says:
I have been to alot of ND games in my time, and the current problem is a big one. Notre Lame Stadium hardly even provides a home field advantage anymore. Would you be intimidated to play there as an opponent? It’s a joke. If you are too old to stand, or too much of a douchebag to handle FANS standing and cheering, STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!! I mean my god, who are these people who think they are entitled to have everyone sit and/or quiet down at a college freaking football game?! Wow.
And the administration better do something about it.
Chris says:
If you aren’t going to stand and cheer your a** off this saturday night. STAY HOME.
IrishTL says:
I plan on standing and cheering my a** off saturday night at my own home.
mark says:
Can anyone contact the admin about this, it has to change now, yell and screaaaaaam GO Irish
mark says:
Ask about this issue in a Press conference to get our voices heard. Could Mike Frank do this or anyone else that can attend the conferences? This is football, and if we can’t give our team a home field advantage by doing our part (ahhhh) then the team is more likely to loss breaking the hearts of many in the stands, resulting in non-family friendly environment given the possibility anger resulting and not so nice comments.
Steven L says:
I am going to the Navy game with my dad. Both of us are VERY LOUD and VERY enthusiastic when it comes to ND football to say the least. the 2006 MSU ND game we watched at home on our TV and we shook our houses foundations we were screaming an djumping up and down so much. i am not exaggerating one bit. we shook the houses foundations. Both of us fully intended to scream so much and so loudly we both wont be able to talk for the next week. and if anyone tells me to stop screaming i will completely ignore them whatsoever and scream even louder to make up for their inability to support our team
mark says:
Give the students FREE TICKETS, young blood gets false starts. Not all the students have parents that can pay for season tickets. After all, they are the ones attending the school, so they should be given top priority.
The Subway Domer says:
I will be there Saturday night. I hope someone asks me to sit down. That’ll be fun.
Section 14
KGIRISH says:
Is this or has this been discussed by those who have the power to make changes? This is absolutely ridiculous. I do not know if this is a recent development, but when I attended my first ND games at a young age (late 90’s, I’m still young), I remember me and my quite tall group of family standing the entire game, shouting (and not always polite shouting). I don’t recall an Usher ever saying a word to us. I just remember the guy behind us getting in trouble for having a bottle of whiskey haha. But it saddens me to hear, that Irish fans are having these types of experiences at what is truly one of the greatest places in sports. I was also pretty upset to hear this week that Jack Swarbrick has regulations in place to ensure that tailgating is shut down once the game starts this weekend!!! WHAT IS THAT!!! ABSURD…This is college football people….I live down here in SEC country, and I tell you what,,they put us to shame as far as game day’s are concerned.
john fete says:
one thing I see at all these other stadiums is all the fans wearing the dominant color of their team. At ND the only colors I see are the opposing team. How can this be organized?? It is intimidating seeing the sea of red at a nebraska or wisconsin game. I feel this needs to be addressed, whether it be blue, green or gold it somehow needs to be organized as another element and sign of unity in NDNATION!!…..so I am leaving it up to the student body(who seem to get it in their section) to take care of this and make ND stadium a place opposing teams fear to enter, once again!!
Spankey says:
I was at the Michigan tragic loss…it ended the conversation about Jumbotron for me. I was against a Jumbotron. But the noise created by that system whipping fans into a frenzy was so unbelievable – it had my ears bleeding…but it help them win the game. No question in my mind.
And yes, I was asked to leave the stadium for lifting my 8 year old son over my head after a touchdown (like push-ups). My mother was there – 75 years old. Turned to the usher and said – and I quote, “if you speak to my son again, I will have your badge on Father Hesburgh’s desk Monday when I see him. That’s if I don’t take you out before. Now go sit down like you are paid to do!”
I love mom.
terry says:
so do i
jjb says:
I am a die hard ND Fan, love the team win or lose. I have been attending at least one home game now for about ten years. My first experience at ND was the greatest thing that these eyes had ever seen. Everyone was so nice to me and my son. We both lost our voice that day from the cheering. We had ND fans all around us saying that we needed to come back to all the games and cheer on the IRISh, it was catching on. But a few years later I was at the Purdue game and as I was standing a older lady said to her husband can you get him sit down. As I over heard this I told them that I had driven over 10 hrs to get to the game and I might not sit the entire game. I also said that I was sorry. I overheard him say that he was a former player for ND in the 50s and that I was wearing the wrong colors, (I was in a ND Jersey) if I was going to stand I needed to go over to the visitors section. My whole ND experience changed for the worst on that day and will never be forgotten. I will have to say the Usher told my son that I could stand and cheer as long as I did not use bad language. Home field is a joke, I love ND but for now, I don’t care if I ever go to another home game again.
joezee says:
You people need to relax. People have no right to stand throughout an entire game. It is rude to those behind you. People have the right to enjoy their seats. If the ball is in the redzone or all the way down on the goalline, I would say okay. But it is ridiculous to think that because you consider yourself a fan that that gives you the right to stand throughout the game and not give a damn about those around you. Notre Dame fan or not, stadiums require people to show courtesy to those around them. Having a ticket does not give you the right to do whatever you want. Stop the whining and think about it.
Bubba says:
I have never seen a sign walking into the stadium that says, “Only stand when people behind you say it’s ok!” I hope that every ND FAN stands and screams the entire game Saturday night!!! WE ARE ND!!!!
mikes1160 says:
You don’t get it joezee. Have you been to a Springsteen concert? No one sits. A Chicago Bulls game during the Jordan era? No one sat. During the World Series game in St. Louis last night? No one sat.
This ain’t opera. I will be courteous. But I will stand. And I will be heard.
GO IRISH!!!!
terry says:
I watched that game last night and there were lots of folks sitting down.
Irish says:
No place on the ticket stub says you have to sit or stand, only for an allotted time period. This is America and if you want to stand the entire game then do it, we are free to. Also those that stand throughout the game paid for a ticket also, so they should be able to enjoy the as they see fit, even if you don’t agree with it. Standing the entire game does not seem like an outlandish and unheard of gesture at a sporting event. You have the justified means of telling someone to sit down in your own home, not a public event. If you don’t like it then stay home so you can control the environment.
jjb says:
You don’t get it. Because I did care what they thought I did sit, and I lost the passion for cheering on my team. I will stay at home thank you very much.
Stan says:
Agree with 90% of the comments. I’ve been to two games in the last two seasons. I’ve told myself after both that I won’t be coming again. Granted I went to the Tulsa game last season, which was an understandable mood, I didn’t mind it and gave ND stadium another shot.
I was unlucky enough to go to the South Florida debacle. I will say it was much louder than the Tulsa game, (thank god) but still, i’ve been to a couple of stadiums in my life and none were quiter than ND. But, after the first rain delay my brother and I literally sprinted back to the stadium, running a good mile and ran back to our seats.
i’d say we had maybe 60% come back for this, and we had all the room we wanted, and got very loud and pumped up when the Irish started fighting back. Before the rain, our section was quiet, and my brother and I tried to get the fans around us into it, but were met with blank stares. No one told us to sit down though as we stood for about 75% of the game.
Long story short, get up people. If you dont’ want to yell and support ND, sell your tickets to some wild and crazy guys, who will enjoy them, and no we weren’t drunk, or swearing profusely! Just having a good time.
terry says:
Good point – if EVERYBODY is up on their feet then the ushers can’t do squat about it.
People who disapprove of that sort of fan behavior – don’t go to the games.
Kent says:
I go to most home Irish games and also about 25% of away games…EVERY away stadium, regardless of size (even those that seat only about 60K), are MUCH MUCH louder and way more pumped up than ND stadium…it is a disgrace to our football team! Do people not understand that HOME FIELD advantage is supposed to be just that – a place for visiting teams to struggle…not hear their signals…etc? The rowdiest stadium I have ever been to? Camp Randall in Madison WI – about the same size as ND but 500% louder and more fun! Those fans ROCK!
bass-pgh says:
Attended the Pitt-ND game at Heinz field this year. Heinz has a jumbotron, Pitt dancing girls (really hot ones, too!) and is one of the quietest stadiums I’ve been to. A good portion of the fans are in the concourses the whole game drinking expensive beer and eating ($12.50 for a hamburger and fries!!!! no lie!). Heinz field is a really nice sports bar/grille with a football field in the middle! Is this what we want for ND stadium? I think not! Bottom line, you sit down when the band sits down!!! A great line, and words to live by, it’s short, simple and easily remembered. this should be the new rule, if we need rules. Go Irish, beat on the brats (Trojans) with a baseball bat, oh yeah!
terry says:
I shoulda thought of this long ago and my apologies for not having done so sooner but;
Anyone out there remember Tom Lehrer from the 50s? He was a Harvard professor who wrote very witty songs and one of them was ‘Fight Fiercely, Harvard’. It had stirring lines like ‘advance that spheroid’.
Anyone else out there remember that?
bass-pgh says:
Advance the spheroid? That’s why Harvard will never have a great football program. Well, that and many other reasons. GO IRISH, BEAT TROJANS (but don’t hurt the Songgirls!)