After waiting for months to hear if and when schools will return to normal, some tri-campus students are ready to take the stands at the long-standing tradition of Notre Dame football games.
Football games have been a popular event for many students and alumni alike, but with many new regulations for the pandemic, some Saint Mary’s students said they have had to make a major decision. The stadium is only allowing a 20% capacity for students and with this, there are certain rules they must abide: no tailgating, students can only be seated together if they are a part of a household unit, households are seated 6 feet away from everyone else, masks are required and more. Students who buy tickets but cannot attend games due to cancellation or being moved off campus will be refunded, the email said.
Tickets this year cost $250 and do not include the Syracuse game on Dec. 5, since it is being played after the semester has concluded. With so much change and uncertainty for what the semester still holds, many students said they were hesitant in their purchasing decision.
Ashley Lurquin, a sophomore, decided to opt-out of buying tickets this year.
“I just didn’t think it would be worth spending that much money for five games that I can’t really see my friends at,” she said. “It would feel more like attendance than an actual football game, if that makes sense. If I can’t really sit with all my friends tailgating or even in the game, I just don’t see the point.”
Luruqin intends to watch the games on her personal TV with her close friends this season.
For others, like sophomore Sophia Fleming, their love for the team is what’s ultimately lead buying season tickets. Fleming said the fun outweighs the regulations.
“I want to have fun and experience the tradition,” she said. ”The prices weren’t bad, and I would pay for the tickets no matter the price. ... I wish there weren’t regulations, but I want to go to games and I would do whatever it takes to be able to go.”
Despite buying tickets or not, students said they understand the need for these regulations and feel they can’t be ignored. Senior Kelsey Mayti said the regulations make the tickets not worth the money.
“I always knew deep down that it wouldn’t go completely back to normal, but I just can’t imagine myself going with all these rules in place,” she said. “I think being off-campus or even going home to watch games with friends and family freely would just be more relaxed than what they want us to do.”
For Fleming, the being in the stands, shoulder-to-shoulder screaming and chanting for the Notre Dame football team is an experience that cannot be easily explained or recaptured, despite the circumstances.
