Down and Around the Bend

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

That was the thought going through my head.

Just 26 minutes and 26 seconds into the game.

USC 17, Notre Dame 0.

Not exactly how I had drawn up the conclusion to our dream weekend in South Bend.

But I was in no position to complain.

The 33 hours my 12-year-old son and I had spent at Notre Dame were among the best 33 hours of my life.

I was not going to let a loss on the football field ruin this Saturday.

As it had ruined so many of my Saturdays before.

After all, this trip wasn’t really about the football team.

It was about our team.

My son and I.

And even with the game going sour, everything before the kickoff was better than I ever could’ve hoped for.

The mission of surprising my son with his first trip to South Bend had gone off without a hitch.

I told him that we were headed to Chicago to meet a friend.

But somewhere between highways 80-90-94-284-290-294.

We got lost.

From his previous experience driving in a car with me, nothing seemed out the ordinary there.

I dropped a couple of timely expletives to keep him on edge.

Nothing new there either.

And when we got to the giant “WELCOME TO INDIANA” sign.

I lied again.

“I think we need to turn around,” I said.

By that point I was out of fingers or toes to cross.

Thankfully that’s when he pulled out his Nintendo DS.

Which kept him occupied for at least another 47 miles.

Give or take.

But when we saw the sign:

SOUTH BEND:  24 MILES

It was time for the truth to set me free.

So I asked him to read my blog.

The last blog.

Out loud.

It was the one about our secret trip to South Bend.

He made it through the first four or five sentences.

Wondering what the hell I was talking about.

Then he got to the part about us going to our beloved Notre Dame for the weekend.

He stopped reading.

Twisted his head to the left.

And looked at me.

I smirked.

He smiled.

Ear to ear.

I hadn’t seen a smile that big since Heath Ledger played The Joker.

But there was no joking here.

This was real.

Even though he couldn’t believe it.

And I couldn’t believe how well my plan had worked.

He had no idea.

None.

I’m not sure he even believed it when we got to the Notre Dame campus 20 minutes later.

But any doubt was erased with a jam packed Friday night schedule.

It started with the 6:00pm Pep Rally.

Then a trip to the basketball arena.

Followed by a stop at the women’s soccer field.

The nightcap was a win for the men’s hockey team.

My son was hooked.

And ready to transfer from 7th grade to Notre Dame.

But I explained there is actually a lot more to college than just going to a bunch of games.

I’m not sure he heard a word I was saying.

We didn’t leave campus until a little before Midnight on Friday night.

And we were back on Saturday a little before Noon.

Enough time to get a shower and a venti sugar-free vanilla americano with half water and half steamed soy.

Even that was perfect.

The football game didn’t start until 7:30 at night.

The first night game in South Bend in 21 years.

That gave us plenty of time to do.... everything.

Tailgate parties.

Souvenir shopping.

The Golden Dome.

More souvenir shopping.

More tailgate parties.

The Grotto.

We did it all.

I didn’t look at my watch once.

Time had literally stopped.

And neither one of us was complaining.

Finally around 6:30, we entered the stadium.

That gave my son almost an hour before kickoff to take pictures.

More pictures.

And take he did.

In the 1,980 minutes we spent in South Bend, he took 273 shots.

We counted.

We also counted our blessings.

He must’ve thanked me 106 times for bringing him to the game.

But the pleasure was all mine.

I’m guessing college football fans in Florida or Texas or Michigan or Wisconsin or wherever, all claim to be the best.

But for us, there was nothing like seeing a game in South Bend. 

In section 35, where were sitting.... standing, there was no shortage of football experts.

I told the guy next to me that this was my third trip to South Bend.

The last time was 2001 when we beat USC.

“October 20th, 2001” he responded.

“Ha ha ha,” is what I said.

“How creepy” is what I thought.

I told him my first trip was in 1990 when the Rocket (Raghib Ismail) returned the kick against Miami.

Also October 20th.

Now that’s creepy.

But don’t let the OCD fool you, these people love their Irish.

Even when we started losing on Saturday night.

Sure they got frustrated.

Even mad.

And there was so much second guessing, I thought I was at a session of Congress.

But they never stopped caring.

At one point Notre Dame used a quarterback rotation.

Moving one guy in and one guy out on consecutive plays.

When it didn’t work, it wasn’t very popular.

Especially with a guy right behind us.

“What is he doing?,” speaking of coach Brian Kelly.  

“Doesn’t he know that no one has ever won a national championship rotating quarterbacks!”

Ok, now you’ve gone too far.

About 2.4 seconds later, my son and and I turned around.

At the same time.

And said.

“Florida -- Chris Leak and Tim Tebow.”

At the same time.

That may be my proudest moment as a dad.

And there are a lot to choose from.

After falling behind Notre Dame battled back.

In fact, the Irish were one yard away from tying the game in the third quarter when they fumbled the ball.

The Trojans picked up the loose pig and took it all the way back. 

It turned out to be the final score of the night.

USC 31, Notre Dame 17.

A disappointing loss, to say the least.

But for the first time.

Ever.

We lost the game.

And I really didn't care.