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I am very blessed to have a dear friend - a Florida grad, no less - who got tickets for she and I several days before the game. She knew I wanted to attend and she wanted to go in hopes of seeing Georgia lose. So, it was a win win situation! We both live on the outskirts of New Orleans so it wasn't challenging to reach to stadium and quickly get to our seats close to the field in the Georgia Endzone. Mostly GA fans there but a small and loud contingent of Irish. Looking out at the stadium, I was a bit nervous to see how many Dawgs fans were in attendance; it was larger than our Irish contingent.

My seatmate to my right ended up being a nine-year-old boy who's PawPaw was an ND grad from the 70s and who had come to the game with his aunt - a former employee at our lady's university. When I asked him why PawPaw hadn't come to the game, he told me "PawPaw needed to stay home for this one because he's gonna be cursing most of the game." A sentiment I can sympathize with. The boy was a real character; I think he decided that since I was a male alum (I graduated in the late 2000s), I was the perfect person with whom to talk ND football. And boy did the kid talk! From kickoff to the victory formation, he never stopped. [His aunt kept mouthing "I'm sorry" to me while we chatted.] That said, the kid was really bright, had insightful things to say about the players and the game, and generally had a running commentary that I found to be far superior to some of the professional commentators we have to listen to when watching the game on TV. So PawPaw - if you read this - your grandson did a great job! You should be very proud!

The Georgia fans we interacted with were very kind. There was some very good natured back and forth but it was all respectful and fun. Even when they were down 20-3, all of them still maintained a confidence that they would come back that I found enviable. I was just keeping my fingers crossed that we would keep the pressure on and not let up. Seeing it begin to dawn on them as the last quarter marched on that they might actually lose was enjoyable. I am not sure about the rest of the stadium but, as time was winding down, there was a large amount of "SEC SEC SEC" chanting coming from the Irish near us. By that point, though, my voice was shot and I couldn't contribute much.

Prior to last night, the "best" game I had ever attended was the '05 Bush Push game. When your best game is a close loss, it wears on you as a fan. I have to say that last night easily took the top spot in my mind and it will be an experience to remember. We won the Sugar Bowl! We beat the SEC champs! It was a wonderful night.

To all the Irish who travelled to the game and ended up not being able to go due to the postponement, you were missed. However, if what I suspect is true, Coach Freeman may be positioning us to have a lot more major bowl game opportunities in the future and I sincerely hope you get more chances to come visit us at the mouth of the Mississippi. I know that I'm looking forward to that future!

Go Irish! Lets win the next two games and finish out this season right!