Autumn Spectacle: Trip Captain at Notre Dame

Here Come the Irish

Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a two-day series. To read Part 2, click here.

“…While her loyal sons are marching, Onward to victory!“

South Bend, Indiana: The College Football Hall of Fame, Studebaker National Museum, Tippecanoe Place, Northern Indiana Center For History, The Chocolate Company, The Morris Performing Arts Center, and much more - but the crown jewel of the entire region is, without question, the campus of the University of Notre Dame - home of the Fighting Irish.

Trip Captain has been there. He went for a football game, and found himself immersed in the Notre Dame experience.

Lay of the Land
Trip Captain rolled into town from Chicago, late Wednesday, exhausted. He needed some down time. Cap figured to catch a ball game and get some rest. He exited off I-80 and turned south on Business 31 (also known as Michigan St. and U.S. 33) to Angela. Then east on Angela to Notre Dame Blvd., where turning north, through the trees, he saw it, glowing in the moonlight - the Golden Dome. He stopped, transfixed, and took it in. He suddenly sensed that there was much more here than he had anticipated. Tomorrow held the promise of discovery. For now, he needed sleep.

Getting there
South Bend, a relaxed but vibrant city of 105,000 plus, is located in northern Indiana, just south of the Michigan border, 75 miles east of Chicago along I-80, and 128 miles north of Indianapolis, on Highway 31.

Bus service is available from Midway and O’Hare Airports in Chicago and South Bend Regional Airport provides the service of several major airlines. Or if you prefer a different pace, you can take the train from Chicago.

South Bend is joined along its eastern edge by the city of Mishawaka, pop. 48,000. While both cities have recently added more hotel space, most lodging is still located along Highway 31, north of campus.

Back to 31, north to hotel row, and the Quality Inn, previously the Holidome.

He checked in, took a quick dip in the indoor pool and hot tub, and hit the sack. Cap slept later than usual, Thursday morning, before rising, a new man. He headed back down 31 to Perkins Restaurant, for breakfast, and then downtown to The College Football Hall of Fame, at 111 South St. Joseph St. – across the street from the Marriott.

The Hall
TC parked and went next door to The Chocolate Company for a latte’ before heading across the Plaza area – with marked field and goal posts – past the statue of Knute Rockne and into the Hall of Fame. Just inside the door, the helmets caught his eye. High overhead, college helmets and pennants were hung in order, 1 thru 25, to show the Top 25 in this week’s Coaches’ Poll. Then down the spiraling ramp to the displays on the lower floor. The mural at the display entrance bore a quote from Grantland Rice,

“I‘m the soul of college spirit and the maker of a man.”

Cap took a seat in the Stadium Theater, with eight screens surrounding him. The scene on the screens was of “the Big House,” Michigan Stadium, which gradually filled with fans until the movie began. The 13-minute movie showed gameday: from tailgaters to pre–game pep talk, then game action from kickoff, through the half–time show, victory celebration and the disappointment of defeat

Ghosts from the past fill the Hall of Fame.

Then Cap toured the Hall: origins of the game, then members by decade – from the “Father of Football” - Walter Camp, past Fielding “Hurry Up” Yost, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, and Bob Neyland, on to Earl “Red” Blaik, Tom Harmon, Bud Wilkinson, Howard “Hopalong” Cassady, Bear Bryant and Roger Staubach, to Bo Schembechler, Archie Griffin, Bo Jackson, Tom Osborne and up to the present. They were all here, in highlight and in shadow.

He saw displays recognizing rivalries, national champions, bowls, individual award winners, broadcasters, the development of equipment, X’s and O’s, and the interactive section with the trivia quiz, broadcasting:“ you call the play,” Strategy Clinic, and The Training Center which includes a practice field, fitness room and locker room. Then, video kiosks showing great moments and the Pigskin Pageantry exhibit, displaying mascots, tailgaters, cheerleaders and a choice of fight songs.

Cap settled in and spent the morning drifting through the exhibits. Great stuff. He vowed to return, and headed for the campus.

Campus
Notre Dame, a pedestrian campus, is arranged, generally, throughout five main “quads”: North Quad, South Quad, Main Quad, Mod Quad and the DeBartolo Quad. TC drove between Notre Dame Stadium and the Joyce Athletic and Convocation Center, and found parking off Juniper, near Grace Hall. He walked briskly toward the Dome.

Across the North Quad, past Clarke Memorial Fountain and then approaching the Dome, he spied LaFortune Student Center. Inside, he found offices of student organizations, study areas, big-screen TVs, and three restaurants. The restaurant area, which also includes Starbucks coffee, is called The Huddle.

Cap scored a pizza on the lower level and as he savored it, he scanned a copy of The Observer, the student paper, then bought some ice cream from the Huddlemart and, armed with a campus

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“Deep inside, we're still the boys of autumn, that magic time of year that once swept us on to America's fields."
- Archie Manning, in "A Tailgater's Guide to the SEC"