Fans began to abandon their seats at Notre Dame Stadium near the end of the fourth quarter, shuffling toward the field as if drawn by magnetic attraction. The crowd — mostly students, once sitting in socially distanced intervals throughout the stands — soon congealed, shoulder-to-shoulder, in the first few rows.
Their football team was staging an improbable comeback against top-ranked Clemson and everyone wanted to be near the action. There was an electricity, a tension that was unleashed when the fourth-ranked Irish won in double-overtime. It was the school's first win over a No. 1 team in 27 years.
"You saw a couple kids jump onto the field," said John Esposito, a senior at the university. "After that, the flood gates opened."
National television showed thousands of students swarming onto the turf. The celebration was familiar to fans of college football but, in a time of pandemic, it was troubling as well. A local health official at the stadium that night watched in dismay.
"A lot of hugging and high-fiving and screaming," said Mark Fox, deputy health officer for St. Joseph County (Ind.). "From a public health standpoint, it's not what I would recommend."
The scene last Saturday in many ways encapsulated a worrisome football season, with the novel coronavirus sidelining star players and forcing games to be postponed each week. There was widespread pushback and opprobrium on social media.
"I can understand why people would be upset," said Brandon Hardy, a recent graduate who returned for the game. "It was one of those things where you make a decision in the moment."
But as the days pass and the furor subsides, infectious disease experts see a potential silver lining. They wonder if some good may come from what transpired in South Bend.
