A Notre Dame Football Diary of the Historical Game at Fenway Park
BOSTON — Waves of blue, gold and green inundated Fenway Park and the surrounding area over the weekend as Notre Dame football traveled to the home of the Boston Red Sox for its annual off-site home game Saturday—the first football game played at the iconic baseball stadium since 1968.
For Irish head coach and Massachusetts native Brian Kelly, who was born in nearby Everett, raised in Chelsea and attended St. John’s Prep School in Danvers before playing collegiately at Assumption College in Worcester, the setting matched his expectations.
“I came out a little bit earlier than I normally do,” Kelly said after the game. “I came out like 15 minutes early and just looked around, and I thought the Fenway Park people and [Red Sox president] Sam Kennedy did a terrific job of transforming the park into a football stadium. It really felt like a football stadium. It didn't feel like you were squeezed in, you were shorted anywhere, other than the [shared] sideline situation, which I said we could manage. It just felt like a great venue.”
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Kelly said during the week that two of his favorite Fenway memories were attending the 1975 World Series with his father, Paul, and sitting in the Green Monster seats with his family recently.
Beyond Kelly, Notre Dame players, including linebackers Joe Schmidt and Jaylon Smith, are Red Sox fans.
“It was really cool,” Schmidt said. “I really enjoyed this experience. I’m a Boston Red Sox fan and always wanted to go to Fenway. This was very special, and to come out with a victory made it even better.”
Let’s recount the unique day at the ballpark.
Temperatures rested comfortably in the mid-50s throughout Saturday with clear skies, and fans ambled around the outskirts of the ballpark, taking in the joint tradition of Notre Dame football and Red Sox baseball.
Notre Dame’s traditional drummer's circle took place late Friday night in Copley Square, and with kickoff set for 7:42 p.m. ET, the late morning and early afternoon were quiet around Fenway.
The Shamrock Series Fan Fest got rolling at noon in the Brookline parking lot across the street from the stadium. The free event offered music, food, video highlights and other Notre Dame-produced content.
As kickoff approached, fans filtered into the many bars and restaurants surrounding Fenway Park, including Red Sox staples such as Jerry Remy’s, Cask ’n Flagon, Boston Beer Works, Jillian’s, The Lansdowne Pub, The Baseball Tavern and others. A steady stream of Notre Dame colors and fans filled the area, while a minority of maroon-and-gold-clad Boston College fans dotted the premises.
As the early sunset descended upon the city, the streets encompassing the ballpark filled with fans and bar lines grew longer. Within various bars, chants from Irish and Eagles fans echoed back and forth.
The evening was brisk as fans began to make their way into Fenway Park. While the teams carried out their early pregame warm-ups, Notre Dame video packages sparkled on the video board in center field, including interviews with former Irish players, Notre Dame faculty and Fenway Park Director of Grounds David Mellor.
The Notre Dame band eventually emerged from the center field gate and settled in left-center field behind the shared sideline hosting both teams. The Irish took the field near home plate to an explosion of fireworks from beyond the right field bleachers.
A sellout crowd of 38,686 attended the first football game at Fenway in 47 years. And with Notre Dame committing five turnovers in a sluggish and sloppy outing, the bulk of fans hung around for the duration of the game and watched as the Eagles trimmed the deficit to 10 points with 10 minutes and 17 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Boston College then cut within three with an 86-yard touchdown drive with 54 seconds remaining, but the Irish clamped down on the onside kick to secure the 19-16 victory.
Soon thereafter, before Notre Dame players even finished their postgame interviews in the Red Sox weight room, stadium staff members went to work breaking down the Notre Dame components of the park and restoring the historic field to its standard, shamrock-less state.
All quotes were obtained firsthand.
Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.
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