The "Gold" Team

There isn't a more storied Football program than that of Notre Dame, or in Ceilidh's words.... the Gold team. wink Obviously, my love of Carolina football grew out of my own heart's allegiance to the school and program. My first love and allegiance will always be colored baby blue, but I have room in my heart for a little gold as well! wink

My love of Notre Dame has grown out of Andrew's boyhood fascination which has continued to deepen throughout his life. Countless hours of running out of the dome to the roar of screaming 'fighting Irish' fans happened every weekend in the front yard. wink His first (own) dog was appropriately named 'Knute." I could continue... but for now, I will just say "We are ND!"

This is an excerpt from an article in Notre Dame Magazine:

'As for senior captain Manti Te’o, what can better express the Notre Dame family’s love than tears of joy? Thousands of students proudly wore yellow and white leis in admiration of their fellow student as Te’o, last of all the seniors, emotionally embraced his parents before the game.
When Brian Kelly called a timeout early in the fourth quarter, he gave Motta, Lewis-Moore and Te’o a fitting curtain call. One by one, each senior bounded off the field to thunderous applause, fighting back tears as they accepted the bittersweet finality of their final home game.
As season’s heroes exited, Kelly called to the stage the unheralded seniors and walk-ons who have served as scout teamers and backups for four years at Notre Dame. This is the true hope of any Senior Day — a volley cheer for every senior on the roster — and Kelly’s players thanked him with a frigid bath of something greener than champagne.
Later in the night, the South Bend celebration peaked with gusto as former leaders Oregon and Kansas State bowed to their underdog opponents. The Fighting Irish prepare their siege of unmighty Troy amid a chorus of rejoicing. For the first time in nearly 20 years, Notre Dame is #1.
As the star-spangled banner snapped brightly above a ceremony for veterans of both the gridiron and the battlefield, one must ask: For whom do the echoes awake each sublime Saturday afternoon?
Yes, they beckon greats like Riddick, Toma, Eifert, Martin, Lewis-Moore and Te’o. On a campus graced by bronze statues of priests, coaches and Moses himself, Rockne’s apostles will always await golden-helmeted heroes of the fall.
But every hero needs a loyal band of brothers ready to charge into the breach. So the echoes also call for players like Charlie Fiessinger and Nick Fitzpatrick and Dennis Mahoney. They are among the sturdy immigrant sons who, for 125 years, have blocked and tackled in anonymity for Notre Dame. Theirs is a true Notre Dame legacy: nameless fighters who tough through snow and mud and sweat and blood to bear aloft a tiny but audacious Catholic university from the snowy banks of Saint Mary’s Lake to the beating heart of America.
Their names are unknown. Their faces are not famous. They are the Fighting Irish.'

National Championship game.... here we come!!