Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride. Brian Sweany

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      Chapter twenty-one

      My criminal record notwithstanding, lately, Dad has been on a constant emotional high. Hell, he’s downright exultant.

      Notre Dame is fucking winning football games this year.

      All of them.

      It started with the home opener versus Michigan. A diminutive walk-on kicker by the name of Reggie Ho kicked four field goals, including one with a minute seventeen left in the game. Dad and I were seven rows up in the south side of the end zone when Michigan’s Mike Gillette missed a forty-seven yard field goal as time expired. The final score was Notre Dame 19, Michigan 17. Notre Dame beat its next three opponents—Michigan State, Purdue, and Stanford—by a combined score of 112–24, then the Irish went on the road to beat a dangerous Pitt team 30–20.

      Next up was the University of Miami or, as we refer to them in the Fitzpatrick household, “the true evil empire.” How evil? My father, the most humble man I know this side of Jesus Christ, told a Miami fan at the Friday night campus pep rally, “If the Soviet Union suited up a team and played you guys, I’d have to flip a coin to decide who to root for.” To us, Miami is Satan in shoulder pads. They are everything that’s wrong about football—names on the backs of jerseys, the trash talking, the dubious academics and recruiting, and Jimmy “Jackass” Johnson. Notre Dame transcends football. They represent everything upright and good—the gold helmets and nameless jerseys, the Virgin Mary, the 100 percent graduation rate, and Lou Holtz. Blessed, blessed Saint Lou.

      Grandpa Fred was in the stands with me and Dad when Notre Dame free safety Pat Terrell deflected a two point conversion from Miami’s Steve Walsh with forty-five seconds remaining. All three of us were crying. Grandpa told me, “This is the best feeling I’ve had since VE Day.” The Canes came to South Bend with the number one ranking and a thirty-six game regular season winning streak. They left with a 31–30 loss, and two weeks later, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame would rise to an undisputed #1 ranking in the national polls.

      ND enters its season-ending battle versus the University of Southern California Trojans still number one and sporting a 10–0 record. USC is also undefeated, ranked second in the country, just behind the Irish. Laura didn’t come home for Thanksgiving, so I invited Beth over for the game. Laura and I gave one another permission to date around while she’s at school, but to say Beth has been just a casual diversion would be unfair. She’s more than that, and I know she is. But by the middle of the fourth quarter, I’m rethinking my decision to invite her over.

      Beth stands up, arms in the air. “Do you two ever sit down?”

      Dad flashes Beth a look as close to stern as he can humanly muster. I step in and translate, whispering so as not to disturb him. “Beth, this is the ND-USC game. In terms of Catholic holidays, we rank this a strong fourth behind Christmas, Easter, and St. Patrick’s Day.”

      “Easter is only second, Mr. Fitzpatrick?” Beth asks.

      I do my best to translate. “Nobody really likes Easter. They just say they do to get into heaven.”

      “Careful, son. You know the rules. No blasphemy on game day.”

      “Sorry, Pops.” I cross myself, whispering a quick Hail Mary with my eyes closed.

      Beth again throws her hands in the air. “Oh for crying out loud.”

      I open my eyes. “Notre Dame is ranked number one in the country and USC is number two. This is as big as it gets!”

      Beth shakes her head. “It’s just a game.”

      I do my best tight-lipped impersonation of my father. “Blasphemer! Notre Dame football is not just a game.”

      Mom pokes her head into the room. “Hey, Beth, how about you help me finish off this banana cream pie I got in the fridge?”

      “There’s still some left over?”

      “You bet, considering you and Hank missed the first round when you were at your house for Thanksgiving.”

      “Mrs. Fitzpatrick, it would be my pleasure.”

      I imagine Beth is giving me some sort of look behind my back as she stomps out of the room, not that I give a shit. It’s the fucking USC game!

      The fourth quarter ends. “Would you look at that?” Dad points at the television as the stats are displayed onscreen. “They had three hundred and fifty-six yards to our two hundred and fifty-three, twenty-one first downs to our eight, they ran thirty-four more plays, and we beat them twenty-seven to ten.”

      “USC dominated everywhere but the scoreboard.”

      Dad nods. “Yep.”

      “That is…” I offer my open palm to my father. “If you don’t take into account USC’s quarterback getting decapitated after throwing that interception and the four Southern Cal turnovers.”

      “Heck, yeah!” Dad smacks my hand with his. “Eleven and oh, baby.” He holds his bottle of Miller High Life in the air, celebrating ND’s undefeated regular season and toasting the football gods. Or should I say God—the uppercase, monotheistic variety—since we are talking about Notre Dame.