behind the scenes: Notre dame at byu game experience

I was fortunate enough to be at this game and unfortunate enough to be a Notre Dame fan at this game. However, despite the outcome of the game, I can confidently say that this was one of the best experiences of my life, whether college football-related or not. Coming into this weekend, I had no idea what to expect, but I did know it would be a unique experience.

First of all, the state of Utah was amazing. The backdrop was insane no matter where I was, whether at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the airport, or during my drive from Salt Lake City to Provo.

The stadium was like no other, with the mountains right behind the stadium, trapping in all of the noise. While the tailgating scene was non-existent, in contrast to nearly every other big college football school, the Provo game day environment provides fans with many other unique experiences.

Unfortunately, I did not make a visit to Swig, one of Provo's best spots, but I did make a visit to the BYU on-campus bookstore, which had a spot to watch other college football games and a candy shop, which was interesting to have on a college campus. I also made a trip to the baseball stadium, which was definitely the coolest college baseball stadium I had seen in my life given the unique mountain backdrop.

The stadium atmosphere was absolutely unbelievable. I have been lucky enough to go to highly respected stadiums and games, including Kyle Field, Notre Dame Stadium, Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, the Sugar Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, and even a CFP National Championship Game.

I have also seen games at unique college football venues like Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, MetLife Stadium and Soldier Field.

All this to say, however, that this game-day experience was not comparable to seeing a game at Kyle Field or Notre Dame Stadium. Maybe it's a recent bias to say this, but honestly, it may have been my favorite college football game I have ever been in attendance for. For a religious school in the middle of Utah, the students are unbelievably passionate. Combine elite fans with the best backdrop in college football, and you see why BYU is such a special place.

The crowd was loud, maybe not as loud as Kyle Field, but its capacity is also 40,000 less. The pregame flyover was the best I have seen in my lifetime, and the end of the third quarter show had me jaw-dropped the entire time. The pregame also consisted of a prayer for both teams and universities, which are both religious institutions, but of different religions. That was awesome to see.

The BYU fanbase was awesome, and vastly different from the BYU keyboard warriors on X. The fans were all incredibly welcoming and helpful when navigating the massive campus. Their fanbase is loyal and showed out for this game, and truly deserved a big-time win like this.

Leaving the stadium, I was told “I hope you enjoyed Provo” or “good luck to Notre Dame the rest of the season” countless times. While I maybe didn’t want to hear this at the moment, it was a class act from Cougar fans.

Overall, this game is why I love college football. What is better than a game that comes down to the last second (or second-to-last second) between two historic college football programs, two extremely likeable head coaches, and two institutions that stand for the tradition that is often lost in modern-day college football. 

Thank you to Provo and Cougar fans for giving me an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.