Sept. 8, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – I hate to be casual about the amount of hoopla surrounding Saturday’s game, but it does not surprise me that there is so much attention focused on this game. It seems like with all of our games, there is all this hoopla.
What has caught my attention this week is the amount of people Nebraska is bringing to the game. It seems like this year’s crowd is going to be huge. The ticket situation is just as crazy as it has ever been.
For us, it is the same as any other week. The only difference this week is you hear about the number of people Nebraska is bringing. It might be a little more hype than normal, but that goes with playing the number one team in the country.
When the 2000 schedule came out there was a lot of conversation about this game. I think there is so much interest in this game because teams like Notre Dame and Nebraska, two traditional football powers, don’t get together too often.
The team is fine with all this attention. What is nice is that we get a chance to play in a game like this, and the fact we are 1-0 makes this game even bigger. All this hype seems pretty normal to us since Notre Dame get this kind of attention every week.
With all the attention surrounding this game and the increased numbers, we have decided to shift the pep rally to the stadium. I really do enjoy the pep rally atmosphere in the stadium. I have received letters in the past saying that some people do not like having the rallies there because the stadium is just too big. I enjoy it.
I think back to the Georgia Tech game back in 1997 and the atmosphere was tremendous at that pep rally. Before the Michigan game in 1998, we had the pep rally in there. I am just really anxious to see the kind of turnout we get at the pep rally.