Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


10.06.2009  

Standing During the Stands

"...a goal-line stand that has to match up with the greatest in school history, the Irish survived 8 plays of do-or-die football..."

"...any time a group can manage three goal line stands in a game, credit must be given. In the many years I've been a fan, I have absolutely never seen an Irish team do that...hell, I don't remember seeing any team do that..."

"...despite all the areas for improvement, the defense did something incredible - three goal line stands in one game..."

"The boys had some bend but don't break moments but damned if they didn't buckle down, strap the lids on and win the damn game! Hats off and pouring some out for every kid that took the field on the Irish defense today. The goal line stands were absolutely unbelievable!"

"Since 1972, my standard for greatest goal-line stands (plural) I had seen in a football game was when Ohio State made two against Michigan in a 14-11 Buckeye victory that year. After 37 years, that changed yesterday."

"All three of the goal line stands were remarkable. The double goal line stand was unbelievable."

"Those moments were in a game that will now be legendary and included in the discussion of some of the greatest games in Notre Dame Stadium history. I don't care who the opponent was."

All of those quotes were collected from around the web from folks describing the game -- specifically, the goal line stands the Notre Dame defense somehow managed to gut out -- this past Saturday in South Bend. While Moisan and I were standing there in the stands as the fourth quarter wound down and ND sealed the deal in overtime, all I could think about was the game itself: Down and distance, formations, personnel groupings, matchups, time on the clock, etc. What didn't come to mind was where this would rank in the annals of Notre Dame lore; more personally, how awesome it was that we were there, in person, standing in the stands near the south end zone where the Irish defense pulled off its double stand at the goal line.

As a seemingly life-long Irish fan, there are some epic games that I, along with many others, remember far more than others: Penn State in '92, Florida State in '93, USC in '05. While I was too young to clearly remember details from games in prior seasons without having to consult Google, I easily remember where I was for each of those games I listed. I remember agonizing over the games, hating the outcome against the Trojans in '05, and still thinking back fondly over each game in the years to come. And now, when I think about that crazy contest in the rain against the Huskies, I'll remember exactly where I was...

...standing near the south end zone, yelling myself hoarse as the Irish did the unbelievable.

Washington's Head Coach, Steve Sarkisian, said it well, even in defeat: ""It was a great college football game...for all the things that happened in this ball game, I think as a fan, everybody loved it."

posted by Bolo | 10:41 PM
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