How Intimidating Is The Notre Dame Football Stadium?
By J.P. Scott
247Sports put together a list of college football’s most intimidating stadiums. Where did the Notre Dame football home digs end up?
A couple of weeks ago, the good people at 247Sports put together a list of college football’s 25 most intimidating stadiums. In what should come as no surprise to Irish fans, our beloved Notre Dame football stadium made the list.
Notre Dame’s historic venue landed at No. 13 overall in 247’s rankings. There wasn’t any real system or rubric mentioned to explain the final thought process in the rankings. Having been involved in such projects, I can tell you that these type of lists are usually the collective opinion of a handful of writers at most.
As a result, these lists don’t really mean anything outside of serving as a conversation piece.
That said, based on my own experiences and observations, I feel like I can offer a little insight.
Notre Dame Stadium can get pretty loud in key moments. The acoustics play a factor in that, given that the stadium is an enclosed bowl. Additionally, I’d like to think that the history of the building creeps into the minds of opposing players. A lot has gone down on those grounds, and I’d be willing to bet that the majority of opposing players and coaches who set foot inside Notre Dame Stadium believe that the ghosts are real.
It’s tough to say you agree or disagree with such a list, but here are a few things I took issue with:
Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium should be higher than No. 16. That place is an absolute nightmare for opponents and the atmosphere is unlike anything else in college football.
Miami’s Hard Rock should be lower than No. 17. Their fans show up late, never fill it and look largely disinterested most of the time.
I was a little shocked to see Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium left off the list. It has as much history and tradition as any stadium in the country. I’ve been there dozens of times. When it’s rocking, that Sea of Red can feel like a title wave.
What did you think of 247’s list? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!