Our home field advantage?

[ChicagoIrish]

The low enrollment compared to other universities

Good point here. I didn't even think of this.

 

[matthstl]

I go to game every year and been going to games since early 1970's actaully been to few games in the 60's. What we have to admit as fans is large part of the fan base is from Chicago. I love Chicago fans but as fans than can be more than a little negative when things are not going well. Compared to blind devotion of SEC fans etc...

You also have to look at years of losing and that pit you have in your stomach that things are not going to go well. Yes that us the Irish fans. You been there shouting like crazy on 3rd and 20 telling d do thier job and bam 1st down. We have seen it so many times it dulls us as fans. Teams that we use to kill every week have come into our house and have beat us. Those 4 the qtr's where the O line took over when Holtz was there are over.

Kelly is the man now that hopefully will get this program back. Once we get beyond this year we will have QB that can run this O and continue to recruit d studs. Be honest one of the loudest fans I have ever heard was the win vs. Utah in Kelly first year. It was like the this guy is going to lead us to the promise land. Those fans that did not want to waste time and money to go to a game are coming back I have seen it over past few years. The tickets that use to go to other schools are now coming back. You are always going to have game like Sooner fans that will pay anything to go to ND Sooner game I know my cousins went.

I like the music they are pipeing in for one the students really get into it and two the old fuddy duddys hate it! This staduim does rock I been there when we beat USC on several big games, I was there when we beat FSU, Penn State in snow bowl and actually the Utah game was loud and last second field goal in first night game first UM.

I been to UM, MSU, Purdue, Wisconsin, FSU, Gerogia, UF, Mizz, USC, Army, Clemson, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Ill, Northwestern, K State, and few off site college games and there is nothing like seeing a game in South Bend NOTHING!

 

[Lillyliverd]

Before the kickoff, the stadium is electric. When the team takes the field I get goose bumps even when I am in my home. From the time the team comes out of the tunnel to the kickoff, I'm adrenalized and twitchy. Then, more often than not, I see a Fighting Irish team come out playing flat. When the team starts slow, it takes away some of the crowd's enthusiasm.

I'm not arguing with the assessment that ND's fans are not all they can be, just saying the team doesn't seem to capitalize on its home field advantage.

 

[Irish7478]

Before the kickoff, the stadium is electric. When the team takes the field I get goose bumps even when I am in my home. From the time the team comes out of the tunnel to the kickoff, I'm adrenalized and twitchy. Then, more often than not, I see a Fighting Irish team come out playing flat. When the team starts slow, it takes away some of the crowd's enthusiasm.

I'm not arguing with the assessment that ND's fans are not all they can be, just saying the team doesn't seem to capitalize on its home field advantage.

I think Kelly is trying hard to separate the team from the overall student body. Because of that, I think the team does not pick up the crowd's enthusiasm the way they used to. I could be wrong on this, but that's the way it appears to me. I think what he sees as "team unity" is just alienating the team from the students.

 

[NDHoosier101]

I thought the crowd was great during the OK game. We were pretty loud in critical situations. It's certainly improved in recent years.
ND stadium also just isn't a large stadium anymore. Most major college football programs have at least 90k+ seats...

 

[ChicagoIrish]

This is true. Chicago fans are quite skeptical.

 

[Irish7478]

I thought the crowd was great during the OK game. We were pretty loud in critical situations. It's certainly improved in recent years.
ND stadium also just isn't a large stadium anymore. Most major college football programs have at least 90k+ seats...

There are 10 college stadiums with capacity in excess of 90,000. (according to yahoo sports). ND ranks 17th.

 

[NDHoosier101]

There are 10 college stadiums with capacity in excess of 90,000. (according to yahoo sports). ND ranks 17th.

Yupp, and I can't think of a big time college football program that holds less than ND. Oregon, but they only discovered football in the last decade.

 

[matthstl]

My last statement on this subject. Been to alot of campus and staduims and non of them come close to game day at Notre Dame including all the pre game traditions. I going to repeat nothing is better than being in southbend on any given Saturday when the Irish are playing football!

 

[Irish7478]

My last statement on this subject. Been to alot of campus and staduims and non of them come close to game day at Notre Dame including all the pre game traditions. I going to repeat nothing is better than being in southbend on any given Saturday when the Irish are playing football!

I can't say I've been to a lot. But of USC, Tennessee, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Michigan, Texas, northwestern, Michigan State and MTSU, I would have to agree that ND is the best.

 

[Lillyliverd]

I have to agree that the pregame experience at ND is as good as it gets. I don't want to offend anyone here, but the game experience is not so great. My seats have always been a splintery 2X8 plank and for $80 I get 14" for my 18" wide ass. The band is great, but there is no Jumbotron. When play is at the other end of the field its hard to see what happened, I'm not sure if I should cheer or not. I have to wait for the crowd response from the other end of the stadium. A Jumbotron can fire up the crowd with replays on bad calls and keep the whole crowd in the game. When you are 400 feet away from the action you feel like your screaming is less important than when the action is near.

The student section should be in the middle of the end zone. The end zone should also be a standing room only zone with cheaper tickets to discourage the old folks from sitting there. I would like to see a loud red zone.

A Notre Dame football game is a bucket list thing for many college football fans. I know some people that went to a ND football game that are not fans. A few years ago I went to Cameron Indoor Stadium to watch a Duke game. I have watched Duke play on TV many times and I respect Coach K, but I am not a fan. I was harassed for not cheering wildly as everyone around me was. At any ND game, there has to be a number of relatively quiet bucket list spectators.

Crowd enthusiasm is contagious. Living in Montana, I have been to a number of Griz games. The stadium holds only about 30,000, but everyone there goes nuts. Washington Grizzly stadium is way louder than the games I have attended at ND. At ND games I have heard "sit down" and my seat is typically in an area infested with fans from the visiting team. I know I would be a better fan if I was surrounded by a bunch of crazies, but that has not been my experience there.

 

[bbirish73]

Guys, seemed to me we actually had a home field advantage last night. USC had many false starts......it was really loud. I think it is because it is an under the lights game. That is my opinion and I'm sticking with it. It was too late for the old timers and the serious football fans had more time to drink and get crazy.

 

[Irish7478]

Guys, seemed to me we actually had a home field advantage last night. USC had many false starts......it was really loud. I think it is because it is an under the lights game. That is my opinion and I'm sticking with it. It was too late for the old timers and the serious football fans had more time to drink and get crazy.

It was definitely a loud stadium, but the mix of young and old seemed about the same as always. There was also a lot more time to drink, so that may have had something to do with it, but I think the main thing was that we were playing SC.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

It was definitely a loud stadium, but the mix of young and old seemed about the same as always. There was also a lot more time to drink, so that may have had something to do with it, but I think the main thing was that we were playing SC.

Were you at the game?

 

[Irish7478]

Were you at the game?

Yes. It was great.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

Yes. It was great.

Always a great weekend when we beat the Trojans

 

[Irish7478]

Always a great weekend when we beat the Trojans

Hopefully we can start a streak like we had from '83-'93. Three out of the last four is a nice start.