Notre Dame is one of the most storied schools in all of college football. They’ve won 11 National Championships and have produced legendary personnel such as Joe Montana and Tim Brown. Naturally, a school with such considerable history has a ton of long-held and beloved traditions. Sure enough, there are many long-loved customs that make a Notre Dame unique fan experience. Let’s look at some of the most interesting traditions that the school has cultivated over the years for game day, golden helmets and more.
1. There’s Gold In Them There Helmets!
If you’ve ever wondered why Notre Dame’s helmets shine so brightly on the field — brighter than anyone else’s, perhaps — it’s because the helmets are made with 23.9 karat gold. Until 2010, the gold was painted into the helmets by a group of student managers, but in recent years, that job has been given to a company called Hydrographics. Interestingly, throughout the 2010 campaign, five different types of gold were painted onto the helmets in an attempt to get the look right. The inability to do so likely caused the decision to take the job out of student’s hands and give it to a private company, who could streamline the process.
2. The “Play Like A Champion Today” Sign
If you grew up watching Notre Dame’s games on NBC, you probably have quite a few memories of the players tapping this sign before going onto the field. It’s become a major part of Notre Dame football lore, but the sign was installed fairly recently. Head coach Lou Holtz incorporated the sign in 1986, after seeing a picture of a previous sign in a library book (as he explains in the above clip). He thought bringing the sign back would be a good idea to motivate players, and the message has certainly stuck.
It’s worth noting, however, that Notre Dame is not the only school to proudly display this slogan — Oklahoma has had it hanging in their locker room since the 1940s. Did the Oklahoma sign actually appear before the original Notre Dame sign that Holtz revived? That’s a subject of hot debate, as no one can quite remember when the first Notre Dame sign appeared. Either way, the slogan is a big part of the history of the Irish, as well as the Sooners.
3. All the trophies that are up for grabs in rivalry games.
If you follow Notre Dame throughout the season, you’ve probably noticed they have a *lot* of rivals. Like, every week it’s yet another rivalry. Michigan. Michigan State. Stanford. USC. Navy. Purdue. All of these teams have a history of bad blood with the Irish, and many of these games have a fun trophy up for grabs for whoever emerges victorious.
The winner of the Notre Dame-Stanford game wins the Legends trophy. which is an Irish crystal glass on a base made from a California redwood, effectively tying the schools together. Whoever wins the Notre Dame-Michigan State game wins the Megaphone trophy, which is pretty self-explanatory. The Purdue matchup is a fight for the Shillelagh, while the Irish and USC battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh, which is presumably much fancier…you know, because it’s Jeweled. As you can see, several of Notre Dame’s matchups come with a little extra motivation. For anyone interested, here’s a complete list of every rivalry trophy in college football.
4. When they beat Navy 43 times in a row.
Okay, we’re bending the rules a little bit here. This is more of a Thing That Just Happened Over And Over Again than a tradition. Still, when one team beats another team 43 consecutive times, that’s an undeniable part of each team’s history. Yes, the Notre Dame-Navy rivalry has been painfully one-sided over the years, as Notre Dame won every game from 1964 to 2006. When the Midshipmen finally ended the streak in 2007, it was a hard fought victory, as they would win in triple overtime by a score of 46-44. It’s not surprising that this was the season the streak ended; Notre Dame went just 3-9 that year, and it represents a low point in the program’s history.
5. The Player Walk
Before each game, the players have a very specific route that they follow to the stadium:
Coach Kelly and the Irish football team arrive at the Gug on Saturday afternoons for some last minute meetings. Following these meetings, the team walks from the Gug to the Hesburgh Library, proceeds south toward the Stadium, and enters the house that Rockne built through the Tunnel gates.
You can find a map of the route here.
6. The Victory Clog
After every Notre Dame home win, the Marching Band, along with the school’s Irish Guard, perform a song called “Damsha Bua,” otherwise known as the Victory Clog. It’s one more bit of camaraderie that makes a Notre Dame home game a unique experience for college football fans.
