The Samoan Youth Empowerment Initiative: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Go Irish!

During my three years in Samoa, one of the most visible decorations in my house was a large ND flag. I remember the early days when Saulo, Milo and Neueli would come over to visit and ask what that flag was all about. My uncle would send newspaper clippings following each home football game in the fall, so the boys got to know Notre Dame football through pictures, my stories of being in the band and other items such as hats, notebooks and t-shirts.

Needless to say, when they arrived in the States for their visit, I felt they were already Notre Dame fans in their hearts and that made our visits to campus so much more exciting. They were finally able to identify buildings and places to the pictures they had seen.

My sister Jenny, our friend Katy and I first took the boys on a tour around campus at the end of the year. We started at the bookstore and made our way to the Basilica, and then over to the Grotto, Golden Dome and finally a ride up the elevator at the Hesburgh Library for a view from the 13th floor. The boys were impressed by the size of campus and also by the friendliness of the squirrels. Since there are no squirrels in Samoa, they were very fascinated by the furry animals and tried calling them over every time they saw one in a tree or running across a quad.

Our second visit to campus was amazing! We went to the Vigil Mass at the Basilica on Saturday, January 19th and then met Fr. Jim Gallagher from the Congregation of Holy Cross. Fr. Jim was meeting us to take the boys and I to dinner and then to the men’s basketball game against Rutgers. We walked over to Five Guys for some delicious hamburgers and fries before heading over to the basketball arena (with a brief stopover at the hockey arena to get a glimpse of a game that was already in progress).

We had amazing seats for the basketball game, situated in the lower arena. When we walked in I could see the guys getting excited, especially with the jumbotron, band and team all adding to the atmosphere. Basketball is a sport that isn’t played in Samoa, so everything the guys experienced was new. Even though I don’t consider myself an expert in the sport, I still had a fun time explaining the basics to them throughout the game.

It didn’t take long at all and they felt right at home, cheering and yelling “Go Irish!” We were all thrilled when the Irish pulled out a narrow victory in the end against Rutgers. As we left our seating, we walked along the edge of the court where we were able to get the boys’ picture with the leprechaun. We said our goodbyes to Fr. Jim who had been an amazing host and then headed for the car. On the way home the boys were listening to my Notre Dame Band CD and talking about the game. It was a great way to end their visit to Notre Dame and now they will forever be fans of the Fighting Irish!