A Good Time Was Had By All (If You Were a Dawg)

In these slower times  due to COVID-19, I find my mind drifting back to memories not of olden days but of great and magical days of more recent vintage.  Three years ago this week, Toni and I boarded a United Airlines flight in Charlotte bound for Chicago where we would spend a couple of nights and make our way to South Bend, Indiana for the Georgia-Notre Dame football game.

It was a unique opportunity for a son of the south, raised to believe that there is no better football in the land than that of the Southeastern Conference.  Oh, I had been in New Orleans 37 years before when the Dawgs had conquered Notre Dame to win the national championship.  Yet, this was different. Toni and I along with 35,000 of our closest Bulldog friends were going to make our way right into the heart of what we had always been told was the grandest stage of college football.  Notre Dame is the epitome college football to many people and the Dawgs were playing there.

Though not my first trip to Chicago, it was the first in while.  We landed at O'hare Airport and found our luggage and finally found the shuttle to our hotel.  A couple of good ole boys from Moultrie joined us on the ride over.  Apparently one can consume quite a number of containers of the choicest products of the brew master on the way from Moultrie to Chicago.  

That evening, Toni and I dined at Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse.  Harry Caray was the legendary Chicago Cubs broadcaster who was famous for leading the Wrigley Field crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch.  He started a chain of restaurants in Chicago and they are chocked full of Cubs memorabilia and photos of Caray.  Carey of course is also the father of the late Skip Caray the famous Braves announcer and the grandfather of current Braves play by play announcer Chip Caray.  It was a great meal.

The next morning Toni and I boarded a Chicago Transit System train.  While we were riding the train a man got on the train with long brown hair wearing a flowing white robe.  He was carrying a cross.  He sat in his seat and began praying after putting a number of pictures of what I assumed to be Jesus on the window of the train.  Honesty compels me to say that I would like to have had a conversation with the man but I was a bit afraid to do so.  I would love to have heard his story.  I will say this; I admired his devotion.  He departed the train before Toni and I did. 

After Toni and I departed the train, we made our way to the Navy Pier on Lake Michigan.  After strolling the pier we hopped on a boat and rode the Chicago River while our tour guide told us about many of the unique buildings of downtown Chicago.  Seeing those buildings from the water certainly gave a unique perspective of downtown.

After the boat ride we jaunted over to the Willis Tower, which at one time was the tallest building in the world.  At 110 stories it is still the second tallest building in our country.  We went to the top floor observatory but considering my large girth I did not chose to stand on the Plexiglas platforms that extended over the street.

Back to the train we went and it was on to Wrigley Field for a Cubs baseball game.  I had previously attended a day game at Wrigley and found it a pleasant experience. This would be my first night game in that historic venue. Wrigley is a special place to watch a game and when the Cubs win and the crowd breaks into singing "Go Cubs Go" it is a "give you chills" moment.  

Sadly the Cubs did not perform so well on this night and lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0.  Even so, there were chills.  One reason was with the wind blowing in off Lake Michigan it was more than a little cold that night.  Then there was also the moment when Coach Vince Dooley took the mound to throw out the first pitch.  The thousands of Georgia fans in attendance erupted with a roar that could be heard back in Athens.  Later, the Georgia fans began the antiphonal Georgia-Bulldogs chant back and forth across Wrigley.  Everyone knew the Dawgs were in the house.

The next morning I picked up our rental car and Toni and I made our way to South Bend.  We connected with some friends who were staying there and spent the day tailgating on the deck of restaurant near campus.  

I spent some time strolling the grounds of that famous setting.  I saw the famous "Touchdown Jesus" mural that adorns the Notre Dame library.  I saw the famous golden dome of the administration building.  I saw sights that I had only seen on television.  I will have to say the Georgia fans were treated very well by the Notre Dame staff and fans.

Toni chose not to attend the actual game and retreated to an Airbnb rented by some friends.  I sat with my good friends Cla and Janet Allgood of Stone Mountain along with Vandy and Dianne Davis of Thomasville.  The Georgia fans if not outnumbering the Notre Dame backers comprised a large percentage of the crowd and  turned the Irish home field into a neutral one.

I heard the band play the famous Notre Dame Victory March.  I saw the glimmer of the solid gold helmets.  I also saw what was one of the greatest all time victories by a Georgia football team.  Who will ever forget the miraculous touchdown catch by Terry Godwin, the running of Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and DeAndre Swift?  Who will forget the poise of Jake Fromm, as a true freshman, starting his first game?  Who will ever forget the clutch kicking or Rodrigo Blankenship?  Who will forget the massive hit Davin Bellamy laid on Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book causing the fumble recovered by Lorenzo Carter to secure the win.

We made the sleepy two hour drive back to Chicago.  The next morning we flew back to Charlotte and then made our way home.  That football season would produce many more memories, a shut out of Tennessee in Knoxville, slaughtering Florida in Jacksonville which erased years of bad taste out of our mouths, an SEC Championship and a glorious time in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl.  So it is in these times of living life with one arm tied behind my back I remember those good times.  I remember them and I smile. 



                                                 






     



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