*Disclaimer- this was written by the wife of a die hard fan and will most likely not do this experience enough justice with just my side of the story- you have been warned :)*
David can't even begin to explain how excited he was for this trip and how it was the BEST day ever!! It was a fast weekend, but so worth the smiles on David and Leo's faces the whole weekend. This was something he had dreamed of doing for almost his whole life. My job on the trip was to keep track of everything and be the official picture taker of all the smiles! Once again my side of the story won't do this trip enough justice, but here we go....
Day 1-
We picked up Leo in Denver and rushed to the airport because we were running late due to traffic and David claims my lack of rush prior to leaving. We ran from security all the way to the gate and barely made our flight. They were calling our names on the intercom as we ran up, we made it and that's all that matters! You better believe I would have never lived it down if we would have missed the flight seeing as I was trailing behind them.
Once we made it to Chicago and got set up with our rental car we stopped at Giordinos- which was highly recommended to get the famous deep dish Chicago style pizza. It definitively lived up to the hype and was worth the stop in my book.
Once we were stuffed to the brim we made a scary and also gut busting drive through the ghetto. We were the only white people around and the amount of "we're gonna die", "don't look around just look straight" and "drive faster don't get stopped at the light" was very amusing. I was no doubt scared, but laughing so hard at the two it was so funny! We continued on the road to South Bend, Indiana home of NOTRE DAME. We went straight to the campus upon arrival and the smiles began!!
We didn't realize that we lost not only one hour traveling to Chicago, but two once we crossed into Indiana. I had so lovingly moved up our flights thinking we could make it in time to do a tour of the tunnel the players run out of. We sadly missed the tour so we ended up walking around the campus and checking things out. We did however get to go the pep rally that night and got to see the players and coach Kelly. It was the senior game so they did highlights on the captains which was really cool.
After the pep rally we walked around some more and soaked up the atmosphere of Notre Dame. We found Leo some official swag so he would fit in at the game and don't you worry David made sure we were prepared well in advance! I loved how excited he was about everything and it definitely rubbed off on me!
Day 2-
We were on campus bright and early to soak up all game day had to offer. We wandered through all the tail-gaters and decided the next time we came we would be a part of that crowd. The campus was cool to walk around and check out all the older buildings and the atmosphere was exciting.
"Touch down Jesus"
Golden Dome
Basilica of the Sacred Heart
My view for the majority of the time, trailing behind these two happy boys!
Notre Dame stadium where we lined up to watch the players walk. We have tons of pictures, but my task was to get one of #5 Manti Te'o who is David's current favorite player. The bag pipers at the beginning were pretty cool as well.
GAME TIME!!!
We were some of the first people into the stadium once they opened the gates and we made our way to our seats. The stadium was older than I had expected and we had some nice wooden seats to enjoy the rest of the night on. Leo was super excited about his spot because it had a big hole right were he sat. As things got going the stadium became packed and the atmosphere was super exciting. We also had some great people around that made the experience that much better! Now for the pictures...
#5 Manti Te'o
Alma Matre at the end of the game
Proof I was there!
Dominated Wake Forest!!
Best one of all 3 of us! Leo had his eyes closed in each one!
Leo got some sweet panoramics!
We hung out in the stadium for a little while collecting souvenir cups people left and you better believe those are the cups that David uses all the time! We also waited outside of the stadium in hopes of seeing some players or someone cool. There were a few players that made their exit, but after a while we decided it was time to go. We made one last walk around the stadium to soak it all in and then we made our way back to the hotel.
Day 3-
We were able to stop at the football hall of fame on the way out of South Bend. It was interesting to see all the different eras of football and the highlights through out the years.
In the hall of fame they had a few things you could test your skills on and you better believe it became a challenge as to who was better! I personally think David did best at this...
After we were done playing around and checking things out we made our way back to Chicago. We drove into downtown, but quickly realized we weren't cut out for the city. We ended up going to the airport where we had some down time to kill and don't worry we made the flight with plenty of time! :) I was told multiple time on this trip that it was going to have to become an annual trip and how awesome it all was! I am sure I am safe to say that this weekend was some of the BEST days of his life- right behind marrying me! ;)