Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1508769
6 OCT. 7, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME BY JACK SOBLE I p u l l e d i n to H i g h l a n d Ce m e te ry in South Bend at 5:27 a.m. ET on Sept. 23, the morning of the Ohio State game. I didn't see any cars following me or ahead, so the little voice in the back of my head told me I was at the wrong spot. The "wake me up" music playing in my car suddenly switched to "Die Young" by Kesha, which I turned off as fast as I possibly could. Driving through the dark cemetery in silence, with only my headlights and the Waze navigation to my intended location to guide me, I started to make out a small collection of navy blue, green and gray hoodies, pullovers and quarter-zips. "This is the right place," I thought. I parked and slowly stepped out of my car, still not really able to see the faces I was approaching. Once I got within earshot, I asked the small crowd, "Are you guys the Hickeys and the Walzes?" "Yep," a man in a green hoodie said, smiling and shaking my hand. "Joey Hickey. Welcome." Hickey, his dad Joe, Joe's longtime friend Tom Walz and his son, Tommy, lead this exercise every Notre Dame home game day, and they've been do- ing it for about 30 years. Anyone with a connection to either family is welcome, and gradually, about two dozen people showed up Sept. 23. The people there caught up with each other, but only for a few minutes. The group, however small or large, doesn't spend much time there. Tom Walz quickly gathered everyone off to the right of the road, where they circled around a small, unassuming tombstone. "Father Knute K. Rockne," it read. "1888-1931." This was it. Any part of me that was still asleep became wide awake. I was about to see a 30-year-old Notre Dame game-day tradition, spearheaded by multiple generations of two South Bend families, extend one more Saturday. The tradition: Drive out to Rockne's grave at 5:30 a.m. and take a shot of Irish whiskey. ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT Tom Walz started distributing shot glasses, and before I knew it, everyone had one with a shot of whiskey in it. The exceptions were two kids in attendance, who received soda. For most games, the Hickeys and Walzes use Jameson. But for the big- ger games, they break out the Midleton. This was a Midleton game. Someone gives a short toast before the shot every week, usually either Joey Hickey or Tommy Walz. It was Walz this time, and he started to talk about his own son, who is 7 years old — still too young to go to the night game. He re- membered earlier that week, when he broke that news to him. "I was thinking to myself, '[exple- tive],' this reminds me of 1993," Tommy Walz said, holding his shot glass and maintaining eye contact with the tomb- stone the entire time. "I wanted to go to the Florida State game, but my dad said it was a night game, so I got to stay at home." It used to be Joe Hickey or Tom Walz giving the toast, now it's their sons. Passing the tradition on to their sons' generation is a big part of what makes this special to the two of them, who met and became friends 40 years ago. "That's very important," Tom Walz said earlier that week. "I was raised to make it fun for your kids to come home, and that's what we try to do." UNDER THE DOME A SHOT FOR KNUTE Two South Bend families' game-day tradition stands test of time A 30-year-old Notre Dame game-day tradition, spearheaded by multiple generations of two South Bend families takes place in the early morning hours before every Notre Dame home game. PHOTO BY JACK SOBLE