I had a dream that one day, Notre Dame would return to the pinnacle of the college football universe.
I had a dream that one day, Notre Dame's football prowess and the friendly confines of South Bend, Indiana would tickle the fancies of whoever plans "College GameDay," and they would return to these hallowed, tradition-rich grounds.
I had a dream that one day, "College GameDay" would be unable to deny the allure of placing their show in the space between the glorious Notre Dame Stadium and the mosaic arms of Jesus that pierce the sky towards the clouds as they signal the repeated inevitability during of a Notre Dame touchdown.
I had a dream that when "GameDay" cast its wide-angle lens towards the Hesburgh Library, it captured the effulgent reflection pool in all of its glory.
I had a dream that this reflection pool would be full of every kind of outrageous flotation device that has ever been created, and that the occupants of these devices would still be filled with what one Notre Dame alumnus termed as "liquid courage."
That dream has come true this Saturday. Three years ago, two sophomores and three juniors started the most recent Notre Dame tradition, the Gameday Reflection. Students and fans have floated for every home game since then, cheering on the band and Irish Guard as they march in front of the library and over to Stonehenge. Meet us at the pool (the band marches at 9:30 a.m. but come early), wearing the most ridiculous clothing you have, dragging any flotation device you can find and toting your cheering voice. As Dickie V would say, "We're gonna be on TV, baby!"
When this happens, when we allow ourselves to be immersed in the most recent Notre Dame tradition, when we forget the pounding headaches from the night before and start our gameday mornings like real Notre Dame men and women, when our unwavering support for what matters the most in life reverberates through the halls of our buildings, the ears of our players and the hearts of our fans, we will truly signal to the world that one thing is for certain in an increasingly uncertain world: Notre Dame football is back!
P.S. For updates and answers to your questions, join the "A Gameday Reflection" group on Facebook.
Marko Pesce
alumnus
Class of 2012
Raymond Gallagher
alumnus
Class of 2012
Alex Korenstra
alumnus
Class of 2012
Michael Lucente
junior
O'Neill Hall
Bobby Weltner
junior
St. Edward's Hall
Chris Mertens
senior
Keenan Hall
Matt Brown
alumnus
Class of 2011
Billy Shields
alumnus
Class of 2011
Jake Marmul
alumnus
Class of 2011
Jamie Koepsel
alumnus
Class of 2011
Chase Riddle
alumnus
Class of 2012
Stephen Schwaner
senior
Keenan Hall
