NOTRE DAME SCORED touchdowns on its first three possessions and defensive end Stephon Tuitt returned a fumble 77 yards for another TD as the Fighting Irish routed Navy 50-10 in Saturday’s season opener in Ireland.
A crowd of 49,000 filled Dublin’s Aviva Stadium for the first US college game in Ireland since 1996 in a game that will reportedly be worth around €100m overall to the Irish economy.
Theo Riddick and George Atkinson ran for first-quarter touchdowns, and tight end Tyler Eifert caught a 5-yard TD pass.
Tuitt scooped up quarterback Trey Miller’s fumble and rumbled to the end zone to put the Irish up 27-0 in the second quarter.
Navy kicked a 26-yard field goal before halftime and opened the second half with a three-pass drive capped by Shawn Lynch’s 25-yard grab to make it 27-10. Atkinson and Riddick replied with two of Notre Dame’s three second-half touchdowns.
Speaking ahead of the game, Minister for Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar had said the occasion was a huge success and estimated that the short-term dividend for the event was approximately €60m.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
Would love to see this become an annual or bi-annual event.
Why? Surely it’d be better to get some of the real college teams over! Like LSU v Alabama, or maybe USC v Oklahoma. I mean the two teams that played today are only slightly better than average high school teams!
LSU or Bama have no reason to come over here though
People wouldn’t come every year / two years… It would become a damp squib and a pointless event. As a spectacle, it is pretty unique!
You silly bollix. Go home and weep into your teapot.
Ha ha couldnt have put that any better!
Pmsfl
What’s with all the trolls and wum’s lately. Totally ruining a great website
Just home after being at the game. Great day out I have to say. Thoroughly enjoyed the game. I would be an American football fan anyway, but a lot of people there that had never been to a game before were having a great time and enjoying the match… The Notre Dame and Navy supporters that travelled over for the game were very friendly and great craic in the stands… Hopefully they’ll come back in a few years again for the game. They were saying that Notre Dame will be playing a game in China in a year or so…. Might be a while before they’d come back to Ireland….
Was at the game in 96 and sorry to have missed todays game, its a social event as well as a sports event, great fun
There’s always a few who will hate, just for the sake of hating. Sad really. A pathetic reflection on the person really.
Exactly. These are probably the same people who buy Mickey Mouse hats when they go to Florida. Lighten up people for Gods Sake. If he wants to wear tricolour shoes let him. Is it physically hurting you in some way?? Idiots.
I must say, the tri-colour shoes are a tacky touch. The old plastic Paddy ways are alive and well.
This silly football lark – A great way for wee Eire to get some cheap tourism. Any excuse for the Americans to come over and pay respect to their great-great-grand uncle’s cobbler who was half one-sixteenth Scotch-Irish.
O’Neill’s Tack Shop will be the only winners of this pathetic charade.
Oh be quiet Willy!
I’m entitled to my opinion, Dick.
Go back to your oranga lodge!
Just shut up and take their money
Also, what kind of an idiot expects subtlety from an american football game?
For a guy who has 3 Christian name’s you have a very bleak take on thing’s.
William could such the joy out of Disneyland…
Do you know what is cheap,tacky tourism? Selling Northern Ireland as a tourist destination on the back of a major maritime tragedy from 100 years ago.
Don’t worry Wullie,wearing those shoes doesn’t make him a fenian.
Fool ! You are a fool!
Many of their family had no option!!! Leave Ireland or die of starvation! Don’t judge those who have done well abroad and brought the fruit of their labours home!!!! Ireland needs all the help it can get!!!!
Billy boy!!! Jealous or what!
Well aren’t you a bundle of joy?! You must be a real hoot at parties.
William the Turd :) :) :)
You might be on to something there Shane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEsFtiruIok
Some of the replies here are really awful. Personal insults do not address his criticisms one way or another.
Having not been back for the game I cannot comment much myself. I suppose it puts into contrast how Americans celebrate american things in Ireland with how we celebrate irish things in America.
Go suck a lemon you absolute creep.
Can’t we all just be fiends………
William be quiet. You’re embarrassing yourself again.
Dick and willy ! Jesus I thought I had got onto a porn app by mistake . Phew!
Grump!
100million to the economy. we should have these every month and sell the shoes on stalls outside. the country os dying a death so we should be happy with the dosh.
It’s a great event but walking around Dublin it’s embarrassing to see how much of a kip it is these days. You’d think they’ at least wash down the pavements now and then, especially before inviting a few thousand foreigners here.
First time in years i’ve seen any Gardai walking around Temple Bar as well.
Have you been walking around with your eyes closed?
Anyone know how the 100m figure is arrived at?
Really scientific, they come up with an average figure of how much each person will spend on hotel, food, entertainment, etc, and then multiply by 35,000. They then come up with some figure of how much the event is worth in free advertising and how many people that advertising will bring to Ireland. They then use the same criteria as above to figure how much they will spend in Ireland. Add them all together and you get €60m in short term benefit to the economy and €40m in long term benefit.
Excellent. thanks for that. Pity we don’t do it more often.
I’ve not seen any Americans here, then again I’m not in Dublin.
Great atmosphere in Aviva. LSU or Alabama will never come to dublin when they sell out 90k in their own stadiums
Chicago Bears should come over and show you how it’s done :)
Yeah it should be noted that this was a Navy home game and they only have a small stadium in comparison to the 100,000 capacity that Notre Dame and other big college teams would have. Navy usually travel to bigger stadiums when it is their year to host Notre Dame
@rodrigo – these are not average ordinary teams – Notre Dame had many players drafted to the NFL this summer, The Navy are good but havnt produced as many talented players as they would have liked in recent seasons.
True but one of the things that effect navy, and army for that matter, is that as the players are also on the military they often lack players with the necessary bulk in certain positions.
It’s all overfill from boards.ie After Hours/Ranting & Raving (now closed) / Commuting & Transport / Politics.
People who find having a whinge on the Internet fun.
It’s saturday night alright!
It’ll pass.
Great atmosphere in town tonight. Great fans for both teams, ans the ladys seem to be enjoying the uniforms! hope to see them all next year.
The Tri colour boots are really tasteless. Imagine the uproar if a Dublin or a Mayo player wore the same boots during tomorrows game.
People have little to be worrying about
I like the boots.
Nerd.
Think that would be a great idea . Why can’t we have pride in where we come from. The British have their union jack on every thing . The Americans the same .we have a flag flying on the GPO and that’s about it . Why do we only put them out when the big Ireland games are on
@littlesparrow because it seems that flying a tri colour outside your home when there’s no match on marks you a some kind of (armchair) republican nutjob.
I have better things to be doing than worrying about where notre dams’ boots rate on the tackiness scale.. If these guys are really bothered about the colour of their boots, i think they need to go get new hobbies..
This 100 million ! I’m guessing it’s euro.
And I’m just wondering who feeds the ministers with such garbage.
Then I’m thinking , is it the same civil servants that cooked our financial books for the last 12 years.
I rest my case guys
Your case needs a little work Eamon. ;)