When the Notre Dame football team kicks off against Miami on Sunday night, the game will mean more to one member of the Fighting Irish. While players are conditioned to talk about how every game is the same, Jordan Faison is clearly looking forward to playing at Hard Rock Stadium.
The junior wide receiver and punt returner grew up a Hurricanes follower, albeit not a diehard fan, in nearby Fort Lauderdale. Any Miami allegiances have since ended. He'd also hear about the animosity between the two programs, though he didn't understand it all that well.
Jordan Faison reflects on Miami roots before Notre Dame football opener
"Obviously, when I was younger I wasn't a Notre Dame fan, so I didn't really get it from that aspect," Faison told the media when asked about Notre Dame's long-ago bad blood vs. the once-mighty 'Canes. "But being here and seeing the games from the past, seeing the little rivalry they had in '88, it lights a little fire in your heart to go out there and play for the guys that have built this program up to what it is."
That's one of the reasons why Sunday's game is so big for the two-sport athlete. There's also the fact that he's bringing quite a bit of his family to Hard Rock Stadium so they can see him try to rout the Hurricanes in his first regular-season return to his home turf as an opposing football player.
"Playing in front of friends and family, it's an honor," Faison added earlier this week.
It's not that Jordan Faison will play harder because his Notre Dame football team is playing Miami. But it's a safe bet that a win will taste just a little bit sweeter.