Comments on: Adult Swim

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:40:38 +0000

There are some valid points here mixed together with a lot of irrelevant carping. Honestly, who cares if they add some kid-friendly stuff for the Blue-Gold game? For crying out loud. It's the freaking spring scrimmage, and the stadium is not exactly full. The atmosphere is not exactly electric, and there's obviously no opponent to intimidate.

The general Disney-like atmosphere promoted by the university to visitors is annoying, I think - so I agree with you as far as that goes. That has less to do with pandering to kids and more to do with soaking the tourists for every last dollar.

And there's no correlation between people sitting in their seats and kids coming to the game. There are many kids in the grad and law student section, and everybody stands the whole time on the benches. (Not as loud as the other student sections, but still - standing and yelling the whole game.) I fail to see how a bouncy house at an edge-of-campus rally has anything whatsoever to do with people standing up and making noise inside the stadium. If you have specific evidence that the powers-that-be are trying to quiet down fans during the actual game, in the name of being family-friendly, then that's a problem. If the point is just that things ain't the way they used to be when you were a kid - "we didn't need no damn bouncy houses, and it snowed more then, too" - then that's a fairly uninteresting fact having more to do with your nostalgia than anything of general interest.

I echo Mike's point above in the comments - when any kid, no matter how small or portable, has to have a full-priced seat, then I have a hard time thinking that all these problems with the game atmosphere have much to do with pandering to the kiddies. I was an ND grad student for five years, and I wasn't too cheap for a babysitter, I was too poor. I could have taken one of my kids and held him on my back (while standing through the game, mind you) if it hadn't been fiscally impossible to do so. Not that I think it's essential that they make it easy to bring small kids to the game - the atmosphere isn't really geared to that, and shouldn't be - but it's hard to take your argument seriously. It's not kids, it's the administration turning the whole thing into a lucrative tourist experience.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:06:22 +0000

I have taken my son to a game when he was 3 or 4 years old—he still remembers going to these games a few years ago with me. The key is being realistic—he has very vivid memories of getting pizza at the JACC during the second half. I have also taken my family to ND without me and without my kids actually going to the game. The flip side of it being an all day event, having a young family, and a busy work schedule, is that it is nice to have something for them to do too, and then I don't have to spend a whole day without them. It is also a lot different taking my kids when the team is mediocre and facing a mediocre opponent in good weather—say SDSU—versus a "big game" like USC, etc.

By: james.y8

james.y8 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:55:57 +0000

I went to my 1st ND game when I was 20 and my (future-at-the-time) wife was a smic-chick. That was in the late '80s. We went to the grotto, had a steak sandwich at the KofC, watched the band step off and saw some great football. I've been to a game or 2 almost every year since. I still stand for most of the game whether those around me are standing or not. It's part of ND football.
Last year I took my then 11 year old son to his first ND game (after having 'the talk' about paying more attention to the game than the band and no 'I'm bored'). He loved it and stood for most of the game, cheering and screaming himself horse. He still loves his Zbikowski jersey, and even loves that it is now a Rudolph jersey.
This year, due to some very unusual circumstances, I wound up taking all 4 of my kids (ages 12, 10, 6 and 4) to the Washington game. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they all behaved, and felt sorry for my wife when she left in the rain at half time to take them to the ACC (I swear it was her idea, and she told me I didn't need to go with her). I was surprised during the game when the woman (Washington fan) behind me asked my 4 year old to sit down so she could see the game. To be clear, my 4 year old standing on the bench is the same size as me sitting on the bench. I was very close to telling the woman to stand up if she wanted to watch the game, but found myself trying not to be 'that guy'. As I said before, I stand for most of the game and I would never think it acceptable to ask someone in front of me to sit because I or my kid couldn't see. Standing is part of ND football. It's fortunate for the Washington fan behind my daughter that I did have all 4 of my kids there, because I would have stood, mostly out of excitement for my team, and partly out of spite for her asking my 3ft tall child to sit down. Instead I sat and screamed myself horse along with all my kids.
To address the article, my wife mentioned that there was a 'kid' area on campus. She never indicated any desire to go see it. I think she was told about it from some of her old classmates when they found out we were taking all our kids to the game. I never saw the kid area, I never heard the kid area. I don't really know where it is. It didn't seem to have any effect on my -- or my kids -- experience. As it turned out, we went to the grotto, had a steak sandwich at the KofC, watched the band step off and saw a great football game. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In God's name, Go Irish

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:23:58 +0000

Some very valid points – – nice job.
also,
Clarification of Facts: I attended the 2008 Syracuse game (sec 27; row 27). The so-called "fans" throwing snow balls at the Irish players were seated in the middle of the ND student sections to my left. This pre-pubescent activity was continuous throughout the game (start-to-finish), not just at the end when the agonizing loss was in the books. Is this an indictment of the ND student body and their inability to self police themselves/others?
……I still think so eleven months after their ridiculous display of infantile behavior.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:08:28 +0000

Thanks for this enlightening article. Seems like ND has gone the way of all the other limp-wristed sensitive-oriented secular organizations. Kids do not need access to everything. I see parents who bring their kid to a pub to watch the game when most of the people there came there to get away from the kids. Why should others be put out because some "to-cheap-for-a-babysitter" wants to drag their kid to an adult location.

I took my 3 year-old to the ND-Air Force game in 2006. He tailgated, threw the ball and went to the bathroom at half-time. The rest of the time he yelled Go Irish! amongst all the Air Force fans. No special accomodations were made because he was a kid. Nor did I even think to expect it. They did have all that kid friendly bouncy junk, we just didn't go over there. I have my own child and do not want to be around hundreds of screaming kids on my day off while trying to enjoy a great football game.

Society, in general has become a gathering of people who are either the "can't help its" or the helpers of the people who "can't help it."

Makes me wonder what traditions are left at ND and if I should waste my time working to send my kid there in the future? To me, especially after the last commencement fiasco, that standards and traditions are taking a beating by progressivism and the path of least resistance.

Did anyone text message to the security last year when "fans" threw snowballs at the team after the loss? Shameful, simply unacceptable for what I hope is still a great institution.

By: The Contrarian

The Contrarian — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:17:25 +0000

I think the key phrase in this discussion is "maturity level."
Little Contrarian is 6 years old and when he asked if he could come with me to a ND football game, I replied "only if you could stand in the stadium for 4 hours without saying 'I'm bored.'" He thought about it for a minute and then agreed that he'd have more fun at home playing with his toys.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:20:18 +0000

It's always something with you guys. Who cares what you, I, or our kids do at the games? Lets get back to playing some Irish football and forget the small stuff.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:32:54 +0000

I think your mixing your arguments. I'd agree that the loss of tailgate space close to the stadium is a shame and has changed the game-day experience for the worse. But that has little to do with the actions taken to make game-day more 'family friendly'.

It sounds to me like the new Rally on the Green area is a great place for visitors who don't have a tailgate to go to to have some fun beyond just taking the self-guided tour of campus. If there's diversions for the youngsters, even better. We tailgated at the Nevada game and there was no way we were bringing our kids into the game so the band stepping off and the RontheG became highlights for the youngsters.

Nowadays families rarely eat together so the idea of Dad heading out to the football game by himself -- or with one kid in tow -- is pretty rare. Families are choosing to do these kinds of things together. Which is a good thing, although it is a consequence perhaps of spending less time together during the week. College football, particularly at Notre Dame, is no longer a 'boys club'.

Further, the experience inside the stadium is hardly compromised. Sure, people sit on their hands more than I care for but try going to an NFL, MLB, etc game these days. It's like trying to watch a sport in a shopping mall.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:06:53 +0000

Good post, however, I think you are using kids as an excuse for other things. The reason for some of the changes inside the stadium as well as outside are obvious. Were you at the Syracuse game last year? Do you witness OUR fans throwing snowballs at OUR players? Is that your memory of ND games of past? Fans should yell, scream and cheer as loud as they want. They should not be asked to sit either. The changes being made have nothing to do with a family atmosphere and everything to do with unruly fans who think it is funny to pelt your own team with snow balls. There is a big diffence between being a fanatic fan and an unruly fan. Right or wrong, there are a lot more kids attending games now than ever before and they pay the same $70 as you and I. People are not being quiet because of families, it has more to do with what has been going on in the game. Hopefully we are on the right track and this will blow over. I have brought my grandson to at least one game a year since he was 18 months old. He is now 6 and can't wait for this years game. I am not an Alumni, nor do I have the finances to attend the games easily. Each game is a challenge to come up with the funds to get tickets and get there (we live 10 hours away). It is a family event for us and we cherish every trip we make. Yell and scream and stand up all you want. We will be doing the same thing. Just act like a human being and a representative of Notre Dame, not some drunken BC or Michigan fan.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:45:18 +0000

I enjoyed your article very much. It makes a comment on a problem that I believe exists "now-a-days" and that is parents cannot take care of their own children, so it becomes everyone else's responsibility. Parents just cannot bring themselves to ensure that their children are well behaved. Additionally, children grow up on video games and constant sensory input and therefore don't know what to do just "sight-seeing". I took my boys to each of their first ND games when they were 12 for exactly the same reasons cited in your article, I wanted them to enjoy the overall experience of a game day on campus. I am glad to say that they didn't let me down. My daughter is now 10, she may get to go at age 11, but the jury is still out.