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Notre Dame football: Cincinnati fans invade Notre Dame Stadium

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 19: General view of the Theodore Hesburgh Library, also known as Touchdown Jesus, prior to the game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 19, 2015 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Georgia Tech 30-22. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 19: General view of the Theodore Hesburgh Library, also known as Touchdown Jesus, prior to the game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 19, 2015 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Georgia Tech 30-22. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Notre Dame football played host to Cincinnati in Week 5, and there were more than a few red shirts in the stands for the top-10 matchup.

It’s a top-10 game in South Bend and Notre Dame football, fans have turned up and sold their tickets to Cincinnati Bearcats fans. As the Bearcats kicked off, it was impossible not to see the sea of red that has invaded South Bend, with more than 1/3 of Notre Dame Stadium in red.

Now, Notre Dame football has never been known for having a great home-field advantage. Notre Dame is known for having a beautiful and historic stadium, full of traditions. It’s not traditionally intimidating in how loud it gets, though.

Still, you’d like to think that Irish fans could turn up in major numbers that don’t look like a neutral site game before a top-10 matchup that will likely act as a Playoff game for both teams.

This is giving up a key aspect of your home-field advantage, and it’s disappointing to see. This is a good Irish team, not some terrible team like 2007 or 2016, where fans want to avert their eyes. So, what’s the problem. It’s certainly not a new problem, as it looks similar to how Notre Dame Stadium looked when Georgia came back in 2017.

Notre Dame football trying to green out the Stadium

Notre Dame is trying to play in a green-out environment, as they continue to insist that Irish wear green. The problem is that it looks like the Irish wear red. It looks embarrassing.

And, yes, this is a big game for Cincinnati fans. They don’t get to play at South Bend every week. It’s a top-10 matchup for them. This is the most important game they’ve played in the regular season, maybe ever. That’s not an excuse, though. Just because this is a big deal for them doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be for Notre Dame fans. It doesn’t mean that Notre Dame fans shouldn’t want to be at home games. It doesn’t mean that this kind of turnout is acceptable.

A lot is said about what would make Notre Dame elite, instead of very good. A fanbase that shows up to big games would help.

Next. Interwoven staffs for Irish and Cincinnati. dark

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