Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
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Tom Kirkland
Two days into our Notre Dame sojourn and this magical, mystical, spiritual experience is everything that this iconis and legendary tour should be. The weather's spectacular (sunny, upper 60's) the excitement's building and the world famous sites on this pristine campus are even more brilliant in the warm sunshine.
We toured each of the famous spots on campus with the school's historian\spokesman Dennis Brown. Started beneath the Golden Dome, then on to the Grotto (where visitors can reflect in quiet solitude and light candles in prayer) past not-to-famous statues "Fair Catch Corby" (Union Army's chaplain who prayed with troops before Gettysburg) and "Number 1 Moses" so dubbed because he's raising 1 very prominent forefinger. Then we wrapped up this private, golf-cart tour at the base of "Touchdown Jesus" (actually entitled "Word of Life). This will be one of the features we run on "SportsBeat South Bend" the Utah\Notre Dame pregame show right before kickoff on KSL 5/NBC at noon Saturday.
Then we spent a couple of quality hours with former Utah captain (2-time All-WAC Defensive End) Keith Embray, an alltime great guy, among the most positive people I've ever met. He's now the Manager of UND's Student-Athlete Welfare and Development. His story will also be a part of Saturday's pregame show "SportsBeat South Bend".
Our local flavor of the day happened quite by happenstance. Back at the Grotto later in the day, shooting on-camera wraparounds, the Ghirardelli's and the Milovich's from Helper Utah (all wearing Notre Dame garb) recognized us and we all started talking. That feisty and festive group became part of our feature for Thursday's KSL 5 News at 6.
The most poignant part of my day was while we scrambled to meet our TV deadline, getting help from a video editor at our affiliate WNDU, he shared his most harrowing and heartbreaking moment. He was right there when Notre Dame's 20 year old video coordinator fell to his death two weeks ago when the scissor-lift he was filming from collapsed in heavy winds. The silence in that editing room was deafening.
Once back outside and on the Notre Dame campus, the mood lightened and brightened. Reminded quickly about the frailty of life, we basked once again in the sublime November sun, soaking in the powerful transcendent forces, all around us.
Friday's highlights will be Utah fans taking the free tour of ND Stadium, the Utes arrival and Notre Stadium walkthrough practice AND the evening Fighting Irish pep rally. We'll have it all for you live on KSL 5 News at 5,6 and 10.
@tksportsbeat (twitter)
E-mail:tom.kirkland@ksl.com
Mike Grant
Thursday started early as we had set up an appointment to take a tour with Notre Dame PR Dennis Brown. When we got there it was clear this was not his first tour. He does this all the time. We started with the Golden Dome. This is the main building on campus, with the signature statue of "Our Lady". Mary is 19 feet tall and over 4,000 pounds.
We then went right next door to The Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It has beautiful stained glass windows. We were treated with a Notre Dame student practicing on the organ as we entered the basilica. The Church is the tallest building on campus. An amazing part of the basilica is the Frescos. I spent a couple of years in Germany and while the Cathedrals in Germany are much older, The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is every bit as spectacular as those I saw in Europe.
Next we saw the statue of "Fair Catch Corby." Reverend William Corby was a chaplain who is well-known for giving absolution to an Irish Brigade at the battle of Gettysburg. He also served as president of Notre Dame.
We forged on ahead and went to the Grotto as I knew it. Its proper name is "The Grotto of our Lady of Lourdes." This is another place where spirituality reigns. It is quiet there and a certain reverence is expected. Dennis Brown explained that many come here to pray and light candles before finals and football games. He also explained that marriage proposals often take place here. It is a stunning scene. This is a replica of the Grotto in France.
Another sight was "Number One Moses." This is a gigantic statue depicting the Prophet Moses bringing the people of Israel out of captivity. I was unaware of this statue before today. It doesn't have the history of many of the other sights, but it is great. Moses holding up the #1 sign is always neat.
Next came the actual meaning of "Touchdown Jesus." This mural is huge. It hangs from the Hesburgh Library. Millard Sheets designed it and it is built out of granite and marble. It was put together on a high school basketball court, and then transferred piece by piece to where it is now. The actual title of the mosaic is "The Word of Life." The original idea was to show Jesus Christ teaching. The fact that you could see the mural from the Stadium was just a coincidence, but as a football fan, I don't really want to believe that.
That was it for the tour, but the day wasn't even close to being over. One story that we decided that we wanted to explore while we were here involves Keith Embray. Keith played for the Utah football team back in 1990-'91. He now works for the athletic department at Notre Dame as the Manager of Student-Athlete Welfare and Development. You can hear and see more of his story on Saturday during the pregame show right before the Utes and Fighting Irish kickoff on KSL. There is a Ute alive and well on Notre Dame Campus. We also had the pleasure of spending some time in Notre Dame Stadium with Keith and a co-worker of his Reggie Brooks. Brooks played for Notre Dame.
It was a blast hanging out with these guys. We all walked down the Notre Dame tunnel together, under the Championship banners; this is just a special place.
You can hear more about the trip tomorrow on KSL 5 news at 5pm, 6pm, and 10pm. We are also doing a pregame show right before kickoff from noon until 12:30 with the game airing right after on KSL.
E-mail:mgrant@ksl.com
