Victory in South Bend!

One of the highlights for James about living in the Chicago area is our close proximity to South Bend, IN. There was no question this year of what James wanted for his birthday - tickets to a Notre Dame game. So James did some research and found out that tickets to the Notre Dame v. Utah game were still available, and given Utah's success as a team this year we knew it would be a great game. Even better, some of our friends, Scott and Joy, decided to come with us! Scott and Joy are friends of James from Wheaton, and we've loved getting to hang out with them again now that we are living in the area. Scott also happens to be a Notre Dame fan, so Joy bought tickets for them for Scott's birthday.

And it couldn't have been a better birthday present for either of them! We started the day with tailgating amongst the ND fans. We had a fabulous spread: cheese, crackers, fruit, Guiness, wine, gourmet sandwiches, Hint of Lime chips, sweet potato chips...it was all delicious.

I made Birthday cupcakes for the James and Scott, although it was tricky lighting the candles with all the wind.

But we succeeded in lighting them, and they made their birthday wishes (I'm guessing something to the effect of, "PLEASE let Notre Dame, against all odds, win today!)

Then we walked around campus for a bit - I've only been here once before, but it is just as beautiful as I remember it! Here is the a picture of the chapel and the golden dome.

And here is the infamous "Touchdown Jesus," a mosaic on the library wall that happens to be in perfect view from Notre Dame's goal line.

This game couldn't have surprised us more - in a perfect way! After the initial field goal made by Utah, Notre Dame held them the rest of the game and scored 4 touchdowns, for a win of 28-3! It was the perfect upset. James is cheering after one of the touchdowns!

As the sky shows here, the first half of the game was super rainy and cold and windy. James told me the weather doesn't matter for true football fans, so I "ignored" the rain and my soaking wet jeans and stayed engaged in the game. (Although I did manage to create an umbrella "fort" over my lap and arms, which helped a bit)

It was senior day, the last home game of the Season. Here are all the seniors running out through the tunnel.

One of the final plays of the game...

And here is the end of the game, with the student section storming the field after the amazing win! We were all happily shocked at this point with the outcome.

Go Notre Dame!