Countdown to Gameday

My top 25 favorite things about a Notre Dame home football game:

1. Spending a day with loved ones and 80,000 of my other closest friends at my 2nd home
2. Escaping the craziness for a quiet walk around the lake
3. Giving those seated around me fair warning that I will, in fact, be cheering during the game
4. Watching the players run out of the tunnel
5. Watching the band run out of the tunnel
6. A Grotto visit - I love watching people experience that for the first time
7. Pregame military flyovers
8. Midnight drum circle
9. Listening to ND stadium announcer Mike Collins welcome everyone to the gameListening to ND stadium announcer Mike Collins welcome everyone to the game
10. Waking up on gameday morning and feeling like I did on Christmas as a kid
11. Sgt Tim McCarthy's 4th quarter safety tips
12. Giving a darn good campus tour to the first-time visitors in our group
13. Enjoying the best view on campus from the 13th floor of Hesburgh
14. Stopping by Knott Hall to remember what college smelled like
15. Mandatory stadium hot dog & coke
16. Stopping by strangers' tailgates for free food & beer. Better than Sam's club!
17. Stopping by friends' tailgates for free food & beer
18. Jumping in on a game of catch on the quad with some future Irish greats
19. Visiting the Joyce Center and hopefully catching a bball scrimmage
20. Preparing for the weather: hot & humid, a hurricane, or sometimes both
21. Watching the stadium atmosphere at other schools and wondering why we can't follow suit
22. Watching the hospitality given to visiting fans and wondering why other schools can't follow suit
23. Supporting the students by buying a half burned, half frozen hamburger
24. Reading The Observer and convincing myself it was much better in my day
25. The smells of football season - charcoal, beer, fresh grass, & ethanol

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