Being an alumnus of both Maryland and Notre Dame, as well as a resident of the D.C. area, Saturday's game had been circled on the family calendar for over a year. As a Maryland alumnus, I was disappointed that the Terps were not able to be more competitive and suggested to my wife and daughter, both Notre Dame alums, that we leave a bit early to avoid the notorious FedEx field traffic. Both told me that we could not leave before the Notre Dame crowd and team sang the Alma Mater.
As a Notre Dame alumnus, I was surprised to see most of the Irish team walk off the field through a tunnel directly under the band as it played the Alma Mater, without stopping or any acknowledgment. Eventually, a number of the upperclassmen on the team did stop, join arms in the customary fashion and join the band and the crowd in honoring the school in song. Coach Kelly was recently quoted about how his recruits understood his system and that the seniors and juniors were still trying to get up to speed. Perhaps the end of Saturday's game shows that the seniors and juniors are not the only ones with some work to do.
Don't even get me started on those silly helmets.
Tom Millet
alumnus
Class of 1979
Nov. 13
