Now a junior in college and in my third year with The Observer, I have done things like interviewing players in-person and over the phone, taking on almost 10 articles a week and now, covering football games. This past semester, I have had the honor of joining the sports department football beat, the team of writers that specifically focus on the Notre Dame football program.
After watching the Miami game during the first week of school, I was nervous about covering the first home game. Lots was expected of me, the stadium was sold out, the teams were rivals and I had to ask myself, how was I going to do it all?
The answer: plenty of studying before the game.
After studying more on the different types of articles and terms I needed to know, I was excited this past Saturday as I was given the opportunity to attend the Notre Dame home opener against Texas A&M. I felt ready as I memorized (for the most part) the key players, schemes and trends for the Aggies and Irish.
Needless to say, I walked into the game extremely overconfident.
As I am across the street as a Saint Mary’s student, I left early to make sure that I was on time to the game and to make sure that I was in the right place. Arriving around 5:45 p.m., I was greeted warmly by other press members who were present for the game which made me feel more comfortable while I was there. As kickoff neared, I looked from above at the entirety of the sold-out stadium, a sea of fans in maroon from Texas A&M and those dressed in green for Notre Dame. I fed off all of that energy and prepared to write my articles as I was assigned to cover key moments and the Jeremiyah Love player spotlight.
I watched as fireworks filled the sky as the Irish took the field and I saw the student section wave their yellow towels. To my surprise, I got my first key moment early on in the game as I watched the Irish block the Aggies’ punt on the first possession of the game. Notre Dame recovered the ball to score the first touchdown of the evening. At that point, sitting high in the press box, I heard the stadium erupt, similar to the Indiana vs. Notre Dame in-state College Football Playoff game. Words can’t describe how loud it was.
At that point, I was certain that Notre Dame was on a roll and that things were going well for me. But things took a quick turn in the second quarter.
I watched in fear when halfway through the second quarter, a player went down for the Aggies and for the first time in that game, I was unsure what to do. I started asking myself a lot of questions: “Do I write about this?” I decided not to. “How do I respond to this?” I still don’t know the answer. Notre Dame Stadium was dead silent. I had never heard the stadium that silent before. It was a flood of emotions that I didn’t know what to do with so I decided to get up and take a walk.
After finding some coffee and talking a bit with my fellow sports reporters, I walked back to my seat and about ten minutes later we learned that the injured Aggie, senior Bryce Anderson, was going to be okay. Quickly following that, the stadium was back in full swing as it erupted in cheers to show their support for Anderson and I was ready to jump back into the game.
Due to the injury delay, the third quarter didn’t end until around 10:40 p.m., and at that point, the score was way higher than I had expected it to be. It was tied at 31 and the game just got more intense from there.
Luckily, at that point, I had the majority of my writing done, so I just needed to add on a few more notes for my Jeremiyah Love spotlight. I sat there quietly, listening to my partner write quickly as he jotted down notes for his game wrap. I sat and watched during a break in the fourth quarter, the stadium went dark, music blaring and lights flashing as fireworks blasted off.
Notre Dame pushed ahead late with a touchdown to lead 40-34, but then I watched as a bad PAT snap left the Irish only leading by six. It would come back to bite the Irish, as with less than 20 seconds left in the game, the Aggies scored a touchdown and converted their PAT to take the 41-40 win.
While it was certainly an up and down experience, I would not have wanted any other football game to be my first one. Notre Dame lost, but for me, it was a win. It was an enjoyable experience that kept me on my toes throughout every minute.
