I have been a Notre Dame fan since 1968. My family had just moved here from Israel and we were settled into our humble apartment in Miami Florida. I was just 5 years old and a couple of months from my sixth birthday.
Coming from Israel and not speaking the language was difficult enough, but not ever seeing a Television with programming from the United States, that is another matter. I remember sailing across the Atlantic on the Queen Anna Maria. I remember coming into New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty. I still remember the faces of my parents as they looked at her and wept. I can remember the plane ride down to Miami and getting in on a Saturday. Me and my brothers all huddled around the television and watched Cartoons. We were amazed.
We went to bed one Saturday night and when I woke up on Sunday morning I ran into a channel showing a game I had never seen. It was the Ara Parseghian Show and the game was football. The pageantry of the half-time show and the leprechaun caught my eye, but the game, WOW! From that day forward, I have been a fan of the Fighting Irish. Looking back at historical game data, I now know that the show was after the Win. It was a 45-21 victory over Oklahoma.
Even after years in the Miami area and the rest of the family being Cane fans, I stuck with the Irish. Catholics v. Convicts was always a treat at my home.
As we ponder the questions about Life, about meaning and the truth behind liquid soap, we must come up with WHY is Notre Dame Football important to us.
