Bermuda Trip Breaks Fan’s 70 Year Record
He’s cheered on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame for more than 70 years. In that time 82-year-old Illinois resident Jack Van Paris has missed only one game — opting for a trip to Bermuda in the 1980s thanks to his frustration with an underperforming season for the celebrated Indiana college football team.
Mr. Van Paris’ unbroken — and probably unparalled — attendence record was the subject of an Indiana TV station report this week.
“This is the constant in my life,” Mr. Van Paris said in a masterpiece of understatement.
Attending his first game as a 12-year-old in 1940 when tickets cost only $1.10, Mr. Van Paris talked about the game being different and also the fans, saying “Everybody was dressed up in a suit and a top coat and a hat. Every man had a hat. Women wore fur, a lot of fur. It was big time years ago. Now I wear shorts just like everybody else does.”
Over those 70 years he has witnessed Notre Dame develop into a collegiate powerhouse. The Fighting Irish have been awarded 11 national championships and produced more All-Americans than any other Football Bowl Subdivision school. Seven Fighting Irish football players have won the Heisman Trophy.
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