Throwback Thursday: Shamrock Series Edition

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Arizona State Sun Devils will face off in the home of the Dallas Cowboys this Saturday for only the third meeting between these two programs (ND currently holds a 2-0 series advantage). This year’s ASU squad has certainly caught the attention of Fighting Irish fans everywhere after an impressive 62-41 win over Notre Dame’s rival USC, which led to the prompt firing of Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin. This weekend will take on an even higher level of significance off the football field, though, during the fifth annual installation of Notre Dame’s home away from home Shamrock Series. Fans traveling to North Texas for the game can check my complete weekend guide here.

Throwback Thursday excerpt from 

"Life as the Notre Dame Leprechaun" 

...As the only proud Texan on our cheerleading squad, the responsibility fell on Molly to teach us the lyrics of "Deep in the Heart of Texas." She instructed her drowsy students with impressive patience, and most of us had the words memorized by the time we reached Fort Sam Houston. While at the US Army base there, we had the honor of spending the afternoon with several severely injured soldiers and their families through the Wounded Warriors Project. A group of kids greeted us with green pompoms and a homemade poster that read, "GO IRISH! Welcome ND!" They watched with admiration as the cheerleaders performed their stunts, and they promised they would tune in to the rest of our games on T so they could point us out to their friends. I looked around at all the smiling faces, and that same feeling I got every time I swayed to the Alma Mater came back. We left feeling enormously humbled by the sacrifices those brave families had made for our freedom. Our bus fell silent as we all sat staring out the window, reflecting on the spirit we had just shared with some of America's finest heros.

...None of us could believe the number of people already packed into downtown San Antonio for our pep rally when we pulled up to the Alamo.  Fans dressed in Notre Dame gear stretched as far as the eye could see, leaving no street, sidewalk, park bench, or patch of grass uncovered.  We all paused to marvel at the beautiful backdrop provided by the famous Alamo facade directly behind us, contrasted against the charming city streets straight ahead.  Then we remembered we had a show to run.  We took the stage and right away I could sense something different about these fans.  They showcased their southwestern flair by clapping their hands, stomping their boots, hooting, and hollering along with us the whole time.  The rally started to feel lke a scene from an old Western film, and I half-expected several pistols to discharge celebratory shots into the air when we danced to our band's rendition of "Deep in the Heart of Texas."

Read the rest at www.LeprechaunBook.com

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