In my five years here at Notre Dame, I have never seen football games at Notre Dame Stadium like I have this year. The way that the 2005 football team plays and carries itself has brought life back to the fans that come here on a football Saturday.
I remember back to freshman year, wondering why only the students fanned their arms between the 3rd and 4th quarters as the band played the 1812 Overture. Non-student fans never used to join in during the last four years I've been here. And yet, game after game, pep rally after pep rally, this year more and more people are joining in.
I don't know if you look around the stadium when the "Ws" are going, but it looks incredible.
Why do we all get so excited when the wave makes it around the stadium, or even more excited when we have two waves going in opposite directions and they cross each other and keep going? A lot of it has to do with the feeling that everyone in that stadium cares about what is going on, is paying attention and wants to enjoy every aspect of the game. Imagine if you were able to look out from the student section and see and hear the entire stadium flashing the "Ws" and chanting "Weis - Weis - Weis ..." You'd feel something special.
It's not that the "C" wouldn't have the same effect - it certainly would. But this year, from the very first game in Pittsburgh, the majority of the fans continued the "Ws."
As we near the last home game of the season, it is the "W" that is slowly being passed around the stadium. Confusion about "the right thing" will cause too many people to miss the point. It's all about solidarity - one common purpose - all 80,000 people together, eager for the last 15 minutes of football to start. It's about a great tradition of showing gratitude for the coach, thanking him for a great afternoon of football. It's about pride in being Notre Dame. And this year, it's about Weis.
John Wrenn.senioroff-campus.Nov. 15
