Notre Dame is a special place.

So on Saturday, I was in South Bend for the Notre Dame vs. Florida State football game. But let's start on Friday night where I knew that we would be leaving very very early on Saturday morning but I had to work on Friday night so I knew it would be a late night and an early morning.  I didn't get off work till after midnight and I was debating on whether to just stay up or try to get a couple hours of sleep. I decided to get some sleep and then was woken up around 3:30 that morning. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive to South Bend from the Peoria area and this time was spent with my Uncle and I mostly talking about sports.  When we finally arrived on the campus of the University of Notre Dame it was around 11 in the morning, we still had around 8 hours till game time. But in all the games that we have gone to we always get over there very early because there is so much to do before the game. When we first started walking around we walked by the stadium and the iconic library with the "Touchdown Jesus" mural on the side of the building. After this, we had some lunch at the student center which is something we do every time we have been there. We eat and watch the end of college gameday and the start of the Ohio State Vs. Michigan State game ( which was awful by the way). After lunch, we went through the "Basilica" and the admission building which is the "golden dome". Walked through the bookstore where I could have spent lots and lots of money but I didn't I limited myself to only one sweatshirt. After this, my uncle and I walked back to the car because we were going to try and take a nap before all the big gameday activities started to get underway. I got to sleep for about an hour which was huge because I was very tired from only getting two hours of sleep the night before. When we left the car we had about an hour before the player walk which is where all the coaches and players walk from there football complex to the stadium and fans line the sidewalks to see the team. This has always been one of my favorite parts of going to a Notre Dame game because you get to be so close to the players. When we finally found our spot for the walk it was around 4:30 in the afternoon and the campus had really come alive there were people everyone and you could feel the atmosphere for a big-time college football game. Finally when the players started to arrive is when the day really gets fun because when the walk is over the gates open and you can go into the stadium. After the walk, we made our way to our seats, and every single time I walk into Notre Dame Stadium is a goosebump moment when you finally see the field it is special every single time, it never gets old.

Once we got settled into our seats and everything I started to realize that we were going to be sitting in a very pro-FSU section, and at first I was kinda disappointed because I wasn't going to be around my people. Besides my uncle and I, there were there total ND fans around us and we all became best friends throughout this game. All I heard before the game was how FSU was going to "shock the world tonight" and I thought to myself there is no way that happens. Then on the second play of the game FSU thew an Interception and ND ran it back to the three-yard line and all the FSU fans around me started not to like me as much because I was definitely not going to be quite in our stadium. ND went on to absolutely dominate this game winning 42-13 and it was one of the most fun games that I had been to. I think this might be because we were sitting around all FSU people because I was definitely more vocal than I would be usually. By the third quarter, most of the FSU fans had left because it was very cold and they were at the time losing by more than 30 points. As the game was nearing an end I just sat there and looked around Notre Dame Stadium and just took in the moment of seeing one of my favorite teams about to be 10-0 and two games away from being in the college football playoff. As the game ended it always is a bittersweet moment because it was a Notre Dame win but that meant the day was over. I always have loved the walk back to the car after a win because its all ND fans and life is good ( I have had a few walks in the years of going there after losses and those are no fun at all). But long story short I never take for granted going to South Bend to watch a Notre Dame football game because that place is very special and it never gets old.