Football.

Hi everyone! The first home football weekend has officially come to a close and yet again it was nothing short of amazing. Traditionally, the football weekend begins on Friday afternoon with a pep rally in the basketball arena. The football team was dressed in suits and sat on the court while the students sit in the stands. We are separated by dorm and every dorm wears their dorm colors and mascots. I live in Lyons Hall and every year for the first pep rally we wear our "classy" black and gold apparel ... all of the girls looked great in their black and gold dresses and skirts! Anyways, the pep rally this year was very different than in past years. As usual, their were past players that spoke to the team, the student body, and the fans. At the beginning of the pep rally, there was a short video clip that played on a giant screen ... it showed highlights of returning players and said that "Notre Dame Stadium was a sacred field" and that we would "fight to return to glory." It was really cool to see the student body's reaction ... despite a horrible season last year, the arena was packed and the "ND Fam" was ready for another season. Finally, toward the end of the rally, the football team decided to start their own chant (which has never happened). They all stood up and started chanting "crank me up"... they formed a huddle in the middle of the court and got really hyped up! This was a new experience for me and it was really amazing to see the boys so ready to start the season!

On Friday night at midnight, students and fans all gather outside of Main Building (the golden dome) to see "drummers' circle." Drummers' circle is a great experience for students and visitors alike because the drumline plays all of the songs from games as well as some modern music. Everyone cheers, dances, and basically just gets pumped up for Saturday's game!

On Saturday, the day begins with the football team walking from the Basilica (after pre-game mass) to the stadium ... fans line the path and cheer them on during the entire walk. Again, the boys are dressed up in suits and it is great to see them interact with fans and get ready for the game. Then, the band plays on the steps of Bond Hall (the architecture building) and play different songs depending on that week's theme and then play all the Notre Dame songs, including the victory march! It is always a great way to get pumped up for the game!

After the "step off" at Bond Hall, the band goes into Main Building and lines the three stories to play the victory march ... the song echoes throughout the building and it is packed with people clapping and singing along! The band then leads the way to the stadium led by the Irish Guard ... The Irish Guard are dressed in kilts and in full costume stand at over 7 feet!! They are meant to "protect the honor of the university" and lead the way to the stadium.

After all the pre-game festivities, it was finally game time ... of course, the stadium was packed and after the national anthem, two jets flew overhead! The boys ran out of the tunnel with their golden helmets shining and the students and fans went crazy! I can sit here and describe all of this to you, but I can honestly say that being inside of Notre Dame Stadium on gameday is something that is so hard to describe until you are actually there. The tradition of the university and the love that the "family" has for the university is absolutely amazing.

I have two favorite things about football games. The first takes place before the game ... right after the team runs out of the tunnel, they run directly into the endzone, remove their helmets, kneel, and pray. Even in the stadium, it still is "God, Country, Notre Dame." The second takes place after the game ... (don't get me wrong, I love the game too!!) But after the conclusion of the game and after both teams shake hands, the football team removes their helmets, come over to the student section and raise their golden helmets to the student body. This time, they jumped around chanting "crank me up" and then we all came together to sing the alma mater. I can't even begin to describe the feeling that I get when we all come together to sing this song. It is such an amazing experience to be a part of such a close family with such amazing traditions!

Needless to say, I am absolutely at home here and cannot imagine myself anywhere else! I really do "Love thee Notre Dame" and am so blessed to be back for a third year! I hope this post finds everyone well! Love you all ... xoxo Rikki

jumpers...

Just a quick post to put up a few pictures from the year so far...we had a little get together for all of the jumpers on our team! These are a few of the girls on my team! I love them!!

Days fly by...

It has been a very busy week and I am finally taking a minute to write a little update. Unfortunately, since we are a private school we had classes today, but I guess it all evens out during Easter. haha. It is crazy to think that we are already in our second week of classes, but things are going really well so far. I have two history courses ... one on the American West and another on Colonial America. Both professors are top in their fields and have been absolutely amazing thus far. I have already told you about my fabulous education class, but I am also taking Intro to Film and Television, which is also very interesting ... my professor is probably 28ish and has a mohawk (no joke!). Today we discussed everything from crystal meth to Hitler ... I have a feeling it is going to be a very interesting semester. Finally, I have a French class that meets four days a week. It has been really hard to get back into it after taking the summer off, but I still really enjoy learning the language!

Today we started lifting for track... our new strength coach is awesome! He is a former football player and is very intense yet fun. I think it will be a great year with him. We also got to meet our new jumps coach today. He used to coach at the University of Tulsa and seems like a really great guy. I am hoping that he has a lot to teach us and is willing to put in the extra time with us ... from the looks of things, it should be a great year.

We have our first home football game this weekend and I am soooo excited. On Thursday we have the annual Dillon Pep Rally, which is a pep rally put on by Dillon (a boys' dorm) on the Thursday of the first home football game. Dillon is our "brother dorm" this year, so we lucked out with a roped off sections right in front! Then Friday we have the first real pep rally of the year and drummers circle...both are great Notre Dame traditions and I couldn't be any more excited to be back in the middle of it all!!

I am planning a carnival to benefit Charlie Weis' charity "Hannah and Friends" and the final countdown has begun.... 11 days. Things seem to be coming together, but trying to bring together 24 dorms and 20 something clubs from around campus has been a bit overwhelming. I was also in charge of creating the carnival t-shirts, but they are finally at the printer, so that is about done. (Let me know if you want to support the cause and buy one .... ) But hopefully we can make all the last minute adjustments and make the carnival a success!

Finally, I have been glued to the news trying to get updates on Hurricane Gustav. After visiting New Orleans this summer I absolutely fell in love with the city and have been praying that the city makes it out without too much damage. I also met a lot of great people while I was there and pray that they are all okay! Keep them in your prayers.