I woke up in severe pain that day. All of the walking was really getting to my body. My back pain was unbearable, the muscles in my legs were tight and constantly getting Charley-horses, I had blisters up the back of my heels, on all toes, and on every surface of my feet. But I wasn't going to let those get in my way of seeing Notre Dame! My meds were my best friend.
Again, the day started early. We were on campus by 8. There was a huge list of events that we all wanted to accomplish. Things like seeing the bagpipers, watching the guard, tailgating and enjoying the food, touring the library, and most importantly, being front and center for the player's march. About 2 hours before the game, the players, dressed in suits and lookin' mighty fine, walk the straight path from Touchdown Jesus to the stadium. All of the fans line up to cheer and shake hands. It was by complete happenstance that the path split down the crowd right where I was standing. So I was indeed front and center, and guaranteed a few player handshakes. There was only one that I really wanted though...Manti Te'o.
When they started their walk, led by cheerleaders and bagpipers, I had my eyes out for Mr. Manti. When I saw him, my mind froze. I had wanted to say something about how I, too, was a Mormon, but that didn't happen. I ended up grabbing his hand when he offered it to me, and instead of the quick slap that most everyone else was giving, I took it as if I was shaking his hand, and gave him a big squeeze, then held on for a bit. Yeah, real creepy, stalkerish stuff. I wasn't tackled by his body guards or anything, thank goodness. I just looked up at Ryan and yelled "he touched my hand!! Manti touched my hand!!!" I was so thrilled! My trip was now complete.
We waited outside of the gates of the stadium while 80,000 fans trickled onto campus. Once the gates opened, we hurried up to our seats, only to realize that we had AMAZING seats. Right on the 50 yard line, with a perfect view of every play. I was so giddy when the team ran out of the tunnel. It was an accumulation of 22 years of watching it on TV, happening right before my eyes.
The game, well, I'm sure most of you saw it. Yeah, completely opposite of how I thought it would go. We had expected a slaughter. I'll take what I can get, though. A win is a win. There were a few really amazing plays that had us jumping up and down (my poor back protesting against my ignorance), and a few plays that had me sitting with my head in my hands, saying over and over "what was that? We can't lose!" What a game to be at. I did, however, manage to fall asleep during half time, since my drugs made me super tired.
All of the jumping and cheering really had me in pain. I was able to survive the long walk back to the car, just thinking to myself "you can sit soon...it's dinner time...food...Nanny, food" We ended up going to a pub called CJ's. It was so good. The Diet Coke was beyond amazing, the burgers were too large to finish, and the jumbo baskets of waffle fries were heavenly. Once we got back to the hotel, we called family to check up, and I wasn't even able to stay awake til the end of the call. My body was throbbing so badly. Sleep was easy to come by. And I slept well, knowing that we had won....oh, and that I met Manti. :P
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