Kelli Heavilin, Notre Dame superfan and long-time Spring Lake High School teacher, had a dream opportunity to see the Fighting Irish play in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. Little did she and her family know that they would be present for a much bigger national story that would be sadder than any football defeat.
The Sugar Bowl Parade took place on New Year’s Eve with many Irish and Bulldogs celebrating Mardi Gras with beads and floats. During the evening festivities for New Year’s on Bourbon Street, a terrorist intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd. This attack killed 14 people before the police shot and killed the attacker.
The Notre Dame football team played against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. This quarterfinal matchup was scheduled to take place on New Year’s Day, but was postponed 24 hours.
When the Irish beat Indiana in the first playoff game on Dec. 20, they were granted play in the 2024 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Heavilin, a lifelong fan thanks to her dad’s loyalty, said that she started planning for the bowl game as soon as the Indiana game in South Bend concluded.
Heavilin visited New Orleans with her family for the Sugar Bowl and experienced the attack from the city. She said, “My family was heartbroken by the tragedy and unsettled about being so close to the attack. We stayed in the hotel all day and waited for information about the game that was supposed to be that night.”
The game was postponed until 4 p.m. (CST) the next day, Jan. 2. All of the streets were blocked off, and there were many military and public safety personnel everywhere, making everyone in the area feel very safe to enjoy the game.
The Fighting Irish made it to the College Football Championship on Jan. 20 against Ohio State at the Mercedes Benz Stadium, where they lost to the Buckeyes 24-23. Heavilin’s husband and son attended the championship game, where they “had an awesome experience leading up to and at the game and loved following this team along the way,” according to Heavilin.
The Irish finished the regular season 11-1, with a season-opening win at Texas A&M and a playoff-clinching finale over rival USC to clinch the playoff berth. The team climbed back from a Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois, winning the remainder of their games and three playoff games, including the Sugar Bowl defeat of SEC power Georgia and the Cotton Bowl win over Penn State. Fans got a close-up look at head coach Marcus Freeman’s year-three team and star transfer quarterback Riley Leonard this season through the new Peacock series, “Here Come the Irish.”
