A crowd of 38,686 attended Saturday night's Boston College-Notre Dame football game at Fenway Park, and despite being played in Boston, there was "virtually no BC imprint in or around Fenway," according to Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. Notre Dame was the designated home team, and BC was "rendered invisible" in its own town as mostly Notre Dame fans "turned out for this once-in-a-generation opportunity." Notre Dame "made sure" BC had "no presence while playing so close to home." Paint jobs "in both end zones were dedicated" to Notre Dame. The Red Sox Team Store souvenir stand across Yawkey Way also was "bathed in Notre Dame merchandise, offering not a scrap of BC garb." Bobby D'Angelo, who owns a souvenir store on Yawkey Way, said, "We had to remove every Red Sox item. Everything is Notre Dame. We can't see BC merchandise. We're expecting this to be our biggest day of the year, maybe twice as big as Red Sox Opening Day" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/22). In Boston, Steve Buckley wrote Fenway was "so magnificently tricked out for football that you'd have thought these type of events have been going on for years." The football field "stretching from the third base dugout to the right field bullpens was a snug fit, but that brought a degree of intimacy to the proceedings that is often lacking in today's ultra-modern football stadiums." The teams played a "clumsy, woeful game." Having the Green Monster on "prominent display made for an awesome visual" during the '10 Winter Classic, just as it "was an awesome visual" on Saturday night. Buckley: "This was true bucket list stuff for the serious sports fan and it was one of the hottest tickets in town" (BOSTON HERALD, 11/22). In Boston, Ingersoll & Dowling noted Fenway bars also experienced "long lines of fans stretching out the doors and into the streets that were blocked off for the game" (BOSTON HERALD, 11/22).
WHAT IS THIS BASEBALL OF WHICH YOU SPEAK? Fenway Park held an Irish hurling match yesterday, and in Boston, Stephen Hewitt notes "good times were truly had by most" of the 24,944 fans in attendance. The game provided a "chance for Ireland to celebrate its culture," and with "good music, a good game and a unique atmosphere, it didn't disappoint" (BOSTON HERALD, 11/23).
