Holy crap! Notre Dame beat Michigan. Oh, how I love typing those words. “Notre Dame students ran out on the field to celebrate the win, turning the field into a sea of green with their green T-shirts.” I know exactly how those students felt. I can still remember how exciting the build-up was for the Michigan game was in 1998. They were the defending National Champs and this was the season opener. I remember buying a bootleg T-shirt to commemorate “The Game” (I passed on the infamous “Muck Fichigan” design). I don’t think I actually believed we’d win. My teams never win. Yet there we were, pulling ahead in the fourth quarter. I remember my friend Bryan turning to look at our group in the stands and announcing, “I’ll meet you guys on the 50-yard-line.” The security guards didn’t even try to stop the flood. I remember hugging and cheering on the grass as photos snapped around us. I remember dancing as we eventually got to march up out of the stadium through the tunnel. I remember students splashing in Stonehenge and singing the fight song. I remember running back to my dorm room to call my Dad and try to explain how momentous everything felt right then. I know that it was just a football game, but it was truly one of the greatest shared experiences of my life. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so sincerely and un-ironically bonded with everyone around me since that day. It was awesome.

And then we lost, like, a week later. Naturally. But I still remember The Game.