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Notre Dame Fighting Irish Slappy Awards: Most Entertaining Game

By Connor McJunkin

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 01: Zach Gentry #83 and Khalid Kareem #53 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a 24-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Stadium on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 01: Zach Gentry #83 and Khalid Kareem #53 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a 24-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Stadium on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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From hockey to women’s basketball to soccer, there was no shortage of thrilling games that left Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans on the edge of their seats.

Our last Slappy Award crowned the Best Moment of the 2018-2019 athletic year for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame athletics saw successful from a variety of sports this year, and among the hundreds of competitions, games, and matches that took place, there were plenty that left us glued to the TV screen with an elevated heart rate.

Before looking at the nominees, let me explain how I determined what constitutes a game as “entertaining” for this award. For starters, a blowout isn’t making this list much less getting crowned the winner. Of course it was entertaining watching the Irish roll Stanford and Syracuse on the gridiron, but if the game wasn’t down to the wire or featuring a thrilling ending, it’s not making the cut.

Next, Notre Dame had to have won the game. Yes, my bias is showing, but I don’t care. That means the Women’s National Championship vs Baylor won’t be seen on this list either. Entertaining, yes, but also a heart-crushing loss that I don’t feel like reliving. Sorry!

With that out of the way, we are still left with a handful of games that meet the super strict criteria just mentioned.

The nominees for this Slappy Award category are:

  • Women’s basketball 81-76 win over UCONN to advance to second straight National Championship.
  • Men’s lacrosse 14-13 overtime victory vs #2 Maryland.
  • Men’s soccer defeats Michigan in shootout to advance in NCAA Tournament.
  • Hockey defeats Clarkson 3-2 in overtime to advance to Regional Final.
  • Notre Dame football opens up season with 24-17 win over #14 Michigan.

Let’s take a closer look at each nominee:

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