My family moved to the U.S. in late 1971 after years of globetrotting due to my Dad's job. I was a young Catholic kid entering American grade school in northern Virginia and trying to fit in. Since it was fall...football offered early possibilities.

The first American sports event I ever watched on TV was a Redskins - Saints game that Washington won. I watched...because my Dad seemed interested...and because all the kids at school were Skins fans. That interest lead me to college football...and because most of my relatives were Catholic...it was inevitable that I would become a Notre Dame fan.

Specifically...I latched on to the Sunday morning replays of Notre Dame football games...with Lindsey Nelson. I opted for this...rather than Sunday mass...which lead to quite a few blow-ups with Mom. But my Dad rarely attended mass...and my Mom eventually relented.

I can't point to a specific thing, game or moment that got me hooked...but I was all in! I had Notre Dame shirts, hats and pennants...and I loved talking to my relatives about the games.

Then...in 1973...Notre Dame played Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The Irish won the game...and claimed the national championship as a result. The first American sports team I latched onto...had won something that mattered. College football won me over that night...as I watched Ara Parseghian‎'s Irish slip by Bear Bryant's Tide by a single point.

I have wondered ever since...what it might be like to attend a football game in South Bend.

So this weekend...and this weekend only...I will forgive the sense of entitlement as I stand in the shadows of Touchdown Jesus...and recall the sound of Lindsey Nelson's voice...

"Due to time constraints...we now move to further action in the same series of plays."

GO HOKIES!!!