Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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murphy���s Law dan murphy waved the place just lit up and the siren went off.��� You can���t stumble more than a few feet on Notre Dame���s campus without bumping into some sort of tradition. That word, tradition, is tied to the university and its sports teams as much as any other. Once a tradition slips inside the canon, Irish fans treat it as treasured and timeless, handed down on stone tablets from Sinai. This new tradition is fast becoming one of their finest. The idea itself is borrowed. The Chicago Blackhawks for several years have honored a military member on the ice during their unique and stirring version of the Star Spangled Banner. Tom Nevala, Compton���s general manager, wanted to bring a similar experience to South Bend. Notre Dame started finding soldiers from local regiments and veterans��� organizations during its final season in the old Joyce Center and the practice carried over to their new home across the parking lot. The 2,000 extra fans and the improved acoustics made that second period ovation all the more rousing. The players found it impossible to ignore and impossible not to join. ���I think it���s great we can take two minutes during our games and honor a specific person each night,��� senior winger Nick Larson said. ���Some times the coaches are still talking and telling us to do certain things but you have to listen and show your respect at the same time.��� Larson organized a jersey auction through the team earlier this year that raised more than $10,000 to help military families get their children involved in hockey. Two years earlier, the team held a similar event to collect money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Whether it���s through family members, respect for the ex-Army Ranger who helps train the team in the offseason or contagious thoughts, the hockey program specifically has developed a strong tie to the military in recent years. Nevala said the timing was no accident. ���I think at the time the notion that we were still in wartime was kind of fading even though we had a lot of people in Iraq and Afghanistan,��� he said. ���It just seemed appropriate. It���s a good lesson for our guys. ���When they think that they are sacrificing these are people that are really doing that.��� Traditions give a place its personality. They turn houses into homes and sparkling arenas into barns. Compton���s yellow palette of bricks and its gothic architecture match the rest of campus, but inside it���s still chipping away at that fresh paint smell that sets it apart. This second period ovation is a strong start. ���I really do think it���s important,��� Admiral Fogarty said. ���For Notre Dame, I applaud them. I salute them.��� Here���s hoping that they continue to return the favor. ��� Dan Murphy has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2011. He can be reached at dmurphy@blueandgold.com