A tie that binds family...
by zahm77 (2005-11-09 01:07:26)

In reply to: The broken link: What has ND's football tradition meant to you?  posted by Board Ops


As Holtz and others have said, there's a magic at ND that -- if you believe -- it gushes forth and envelopes your life. That's been true for our family.

Mom's uncle played '27-'30...he was in the locker room for the Gipper speech, for the funeral.

100% Irish and growing up in SoCal, she was 3 when ND trounced USC in the 1930 game...her uncle brought Rock and the team over to her house after the game for a party.

Loved ND but obviously couldn't go...raised 8 of us to live and breath ND...half of us wound up domers...3 of us there for championships. And then at my graduation Rock and the Gipper (O'Brien and Reagan) -- poetic link back to our first family member at ND.

Nearly all of us + grandkids hit the Coliseum every even numbered year.
We cried through AD's 6 TDs in '72 and 55-24 in '74, but the boys made it up on the exact day of her 50th birthday -- 10/22/77 -- THE green jersey game.

Mom arguing with the clothing supplier (at the old Hammes store) that the huge 8 foot tall green shirt in the display window absolutely had to be for sale...wouldn't take no for an answer...the shirt hangs from the second story window of mom and dad's house one weekend each year...ND-Southern Cal.

WWII interrupted mom's brother's college carreers...neither wound up at ND but both loved ND football. My wife and I took one of them back to an ND game in the late '80s for his one and only trip to campus. He had a blast...passed away a few months later...one of my favorite pictures all time is of my uncle in front of the dome.

My own kids love for ND...despite my overt attempts NOT to indoctrinate them (to avoid a backlash)...they love everything ND...and they still wear ND gear in the heart of Trojan country even after this past season.

ND football is a key link in 80 years of our family's history...the next generation may be starting soon. It must go on.