Ok...I understand this is a wee bit tardy...but thought some of my "faithful readers" might be interested in hearing a little 'bout our trip to the Emerald Isle for a bit of American football!
Two (2!!) weeks ago today we flew over to Dublin to meet up with Patrick and go to the ND vs Navy football game. It was a pretty quick jaunt, so we didn't get to experience the beautiful countryside...guess a return trip is required! The amount of people who came for the game is amazing - I believe around 35,000! Even our flight from Zurich to Dublin had quite a few fans from the US on it - I guess Zurich is a bigger European airport hub than I imagined. Since we were only going to be in Dublin for about 48 hours - and a large portion of that would be taken up by the game, "pep rally", and sleeping...we set out on Friday afternoon to see as much as possible.
Our hotel was a bit farther out of the real center of town than we thought so we definitely got our exercise! The first thing we noticed were the ND flags, banners, leprechauns, etc. EVERYWHERE! Although this was a "home game" for Navy - it was a true "coming home" for ND.
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| Inside the first place we went for lunch. |
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| Two ND flags to one Irish? Maybe the one on the left is Navy... |
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| And some more...these are CLEARLY all ND! |
The "pep rally" that night was at the O2 Arena. First clue that this isn't going to be your average "pep rally"...everyone has assigned seats! Turns out it is actually a TV show - being broadcast in Ireland! It includes a host(ess), various Irish performers who perform with and without the ND marching band members and folk choir, a visit from the Irish prime minister, commercial breaks, a visit from Martin Short, more Irish music, interviews with Jack Swarbrick (ND Athletic Director) and Father Jenkins (President of ND), only a small bit of Irish dancing, and a final playing of the alma mater "Notre Dame Our Mother". Not exactly your average pep rally - but entertaining nonetheless. This event showed just how important this game was to Dublin and the Irish economy. Walking around Dublin you see lots of empty apartment buildings, at least one half finished high rise office tower, closed businesses, and general economic distress. It is really the first place I've been in Europe or the US where the economic struggles were so evident. I guess when 35,000 people show up, even the prime minister wants to say "thanks". In any event, 2013 is the year of "The Gathering" in Ireland - trying to get visitors to come back, check out their roots, etc. All of the locals we met in our brief stay couldn't have been nicer - I really hope it works out for them and the economy gets back on track.
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| We "O's" felt very welcome here... |
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| ND marching band on stage during the show. |
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| Be like JFK...and support Ireland! |
On to Saturday...after another little hike about town we descended on Aviva Stadium ready for the big game. The weather was GORGEOUS - not your typical rainy Ireland...and of course the game was great - if you're an Irish fan! Our seats were in the middle of the Navy parents section - felt a little out of place. But since ND was winning it wasn't too bad. Best part of the game was watching all of the actual "townies" there for the game (Not sure how they got tickets since we had such a hard time...) Since these guys were going to an American football game - they figured they'd wear American football jerseys. We had Aaron Rodgers just below us and next to his pal, Troy Palamalou; a pair of Tom Bradys sitting together, a Brett Favre (Packer jersey), a few NY Giants, and a bunch of random players that no one's ever heard of...but the jerseys were probably pretty cheap! These guys just kept pouring down the Guinness...that's why they don't sell beer at college games in the USA!
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| Patrick and Steve outside the stadium |
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| Aaron! What are you doing here??!! |
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Saw these chips in a segment on Conan O'Brien with
the Trinity Irish Dancers...so I had to try them.
Below is my super cool ND soccer style scarf! |
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The Navy punter's mom in front of us...
I see a potential new item for the Summit Boosters!! |
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"Aaron" and friends with the Navy goat...
and their Guinness! |
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| Beautiful Aviva Stadium and gorgeous weather! |
After the game we headed to the popular Temple Bar area for dinner and watching the crazy post-game/Saturday night goings on!
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| I'm thinking this was a bachelor party... |
Some more random photos from the weekend...
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Patrick really wanted to go to the Museum of Irish Dance
...we just didn't have the time! :) |
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| A leprechaun and Molly Malone |
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| Entrance to Trinity College (Dublin...not Connecticut!) |
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There was a wedding going on at the church at Trinity.
Check out those "fascinators"! |
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| Wait...I thought we were in Amsterdam last week?? |
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| Have to find the PwC office wherever we go! |
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| Okay...now we're in Ireland! |
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| Essential...the National Leprechaun Museum! |
