Going to a game a Notre Dame stadium, one of the cathedrals of college football (Literally and Figuratively) Seeing your favorite play the Fighting Irish when you are one of their biggest rivals is close to a dream come true.
Miami Hurricane football is a big part of my life. You allocate time, effort, energy, and money into consuming your favorite team – even with the ups and downs of a regular season. Die hard fans buy tickets in the spring, book their hotel of choice and purchase merchandise to rock at a game in the spring.
It’s called “Canesfam” for a reason. We support the squad during national championships, losing seasons, probation, and coaching regimes.
Under the leadership of Mark Richt, ‘Canes fans, including myself, feel a sense of renewed fandom with aspiring hopes to get back to relevancy. With a different coach heading the program, I saved my money and traveled to South Bend, Indiana for the Notre Dame experience.
The Miami-Notre Dame rivalry was known as “Catholics versus Convicts” in the 1980’s. The game was being hyped early in the season as just the schools; third meeting since Notre Dame severed the rivalry in 1990.
Miami and Notre had played just twice in the 25 years in between, both Notre Dame wins. The Irish won 33-17 in the 2010 Sun Bowl and dismantled the Hurricanes 41-3 at Solider Field in Chicago as part of the Shamrock Series in 2012.
This year’s meeting lost it’s luster due to both teams performances, Miami brought a three-game losing streak to South Bend and the Irish a sloppy 2-5 record. You wouldn’t have known the difference in this college town about 100 miles east of Chicago.