Tag: Notre Dame Leprechaun

Notre Dame Leprechaun randomly appears in EA Sports College Football

Have you experienced anything like this in the game?

College football fans have been all about EA Sports College Football 25, which was released this week. The reviews among fans have been glowing and rightfully so. But as hard as EA tried to perfect this video game, a few mistakes ended up slipping through the cracks.

A podcaster named Jason Kirk is among those who bought the game. He played one contest between Western Kentucky and Kennesaw State. When it was over, he noticed something unusual enough that he posted a screenshot to social media:

Yep, that’s the Notre Dame Leprechaun somehow celebrating a win with the Owls’ cheerleaders in Bowling Green. This apparently isn’t the only such instance because the replies to this tweet indicated that unrelated mascots were popping up in other games.

Chalk this up to a history of glitches in EA football games. One oldie but goodie popped up in Madden NFL 2007 (warning: NSFW language):

Sigh. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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Notre Dame’s Leprechaun Mascot Over the Years

It was news to me to find out that June 17 isn’t just the anniversary of the O.J. Simpson police chase in 1994 but is also National Mascot Day.  I can only hope that you celebrated accordingly and responsibly.

In honor of the day, it’s as good of time as any to look back at the Notre Dame leprechaun mascot over the years.  The leprechaun became an official part of the Notre Dame cheer squad in 1960 and has been a mainstay on gameday ever since.

Enjoy some of the best photos of the Notre Dame leprechaun below to conclude your National Mascot Day celebrations!

Watch college-bound student pick Notre Dame on ‘Today’

Do you wish you had this pageantry when you made your college choice?

It’s always a big deal when a young athlete announces their college decision. They typically have cameras in their faces at an organized event, and fans everywhere are eager to see if that athlete will pick their school. The anticipation builds as much excitement as the decision itself.

But those who aren’t athletes typically don’t get the same level of attention when they make their college choices. That changed during Wednesday’s episode of NBC’s “Today” when three students got to announce their choices live on the air. One of them, Nebraska native Benjamin Robinette, told host Hoda Kotb that he will fulfill his desire not only to attend a Catholic school, but the one those of you who visit this site likely love the most:

It was great to see the Notre Dame Leprechaun there to help Robinette celebrate his decision and to hear the Victory March. It’s even better that he’ll be going to college as a cancer survivor. Here’s hoping he enjoys his time in South Bend.

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First female Notre Dame Leprechaun at football game appears

History was made at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.

Fans who attended Notre Dame’s game against Pittsburgh and watched on TV might have noticed something different at Notre Dame Stadium. Kylee Kazenski, a senior at the university, became the first female to portray the Notre Dame Leprechaun at a football game. While females have donned the green suit before, they haven’t done so for Notre Dame’s biggest sport until now.

Here’s a shot of Kazenski before the game:

And yes, she even participated in the pushups that are done after every Irish score:

But with the Irish continuing to run up the score on the Panthers, one had to admit doing that many pushups at once was kind of ridiculous. A TV shot showed that she eventually was just pushed up by Notre Dame’s male cheerleaders. With those arms and that many cheerleaders, that should have been easy.

Congratulations to Kylee, and here’s hoping she’s the first of many female Leprechauns to be featured at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturdays.

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Tryouts for the Notre Dame Leprechaun to be held

Here’s your chance to be a mascot!

If you attend a Notre Dame sporting event that draws a crowd, chances are you’ve seen the Notre Dame Leprechaun. It’s one of the most unique mascots in college sports, and there couldn’t be a more fitting mascot for a school with the Fighting Irish as its moniker. While a few have tried to change that, the nickname is not going away. That being the case, it’s time for tryouts to be the Leprechaun next school year:

So if you’re a Notre Dame student who’s returning to the university in the fall and you have a lot of school spirit, this is for you. It’s your chance to show not only the community but the entire country just how much you love your school. And as numerous Leprechauns have shown, you don’t need to look Irish to be one. If you don’t believe that, look at some of the students who have portrayed the Leprechaun over the years:

Watch: Notre Dame Leprechaun makes snow angel by Touchdown Jesus

Who wouldn’t do this in the snow?

While the first day of spring is coming soon, we still very much are in winter. People in Midwest cities like South Bend won’t experience true warmth consistently for some time, probably in May. That means the possibility for snow remains strong, and it fell on Notre Dame’s campus Friday. With the men’s basketball team’s season over and the women awaiting Selection Sunday, the Notre Dame Leprechaun took the opportunity to set up shop in front of Touchdown Jesus and make a snow angel:

Sometimes, you just have to live your best life, and the Leprechaun is doing just that. He doesn’t need to be on a warm beach somewhere. He just needs to do what he can with the elements that choose to find their way to Notre Dame. If that means making a snow angel, you make a snow angel.

We know you can’t wait for summer, but let’s do that a little longer and think of all the good that winter provides.

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Watch: Notre Dame’s appearances in ‘One Shining Moment’

The Irish have made appearances in the annual NCAA Tournament montage.

When I was 14, I had the opportunity to visit the NCAA Hall of Champions during a family trip to Indianapolis. It was there when I was properly introduced to the annual video montage that has wrapped up TV coverage of every NCAA Tournament since 1987.

While I had seen “One Shining Moment” once before, I figured it was just a typical montage like any that played whenever the NBA Finals or World Series wrapped up. My discovery that this happened every year was my main takeaway from the museum that afternoon, and I’ve looked forward to it every year since.

Notre Dame has not appeared in “One Shining Moment” every year it has made the tournament since the montage began, but let’s not pretend it’s done something significant in every appearance. Case in point, the Irish were not featured prominently in any montage until the three straight years it qualified from 2015 to 2017, which included back-to-back Elite Eights. Take a look at all of them below: