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Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin

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Our trip to Ireland and Scotland was built around the game. Our alma mater, Florida State University was playing against Georgia Tech at the Aviva stadium in Dublin for the first game of the season (Week Zero).

 

The game was scheduled on a Saturday and we arrived in the city on Thursday. From the airport to Temple Bar, signs and banners about the game and the two teams were everywhere. More than 25,000 people from the United States traveled to Dublin. Most of them were FSU fans. The US visitors stayed in Ireland for an average of seven nights, significantly contributing to the local economy.

 

The festivities started on Friday afternoon with a Pep Rally at Smithfield Square (renamed ‘Seminoles Square). It started raining, but our band, the Marching Chiefs, never stopped playing. The Lord Mayor of Dublin, James Geoghegan, welcomed FSU fans from around the world.

 


The game was scheduled at 5:00pm (Irish Standard Time). That morning, we first walked to ESPN College Game Day, which was live from College Green near Trinity College. We were there early and were able to get some nice memorabilia. 

 

We took a taxi to our Tailgate Party, which was held at the RDS Arena near the stadium. The arena is famous for hosting annually the Dublin Horse Show. We purchased FSU hospitality packages for the game. It included the tailgate party, which was memorable.  We were welcomed outside by FSU Cheerleaders, where we were able to take photos. The inside hall was beautifully decorated. There were enough seats for everybody. Everything was included. They had beer, wine, whiskey and a multitude of food trucks outside the hall. They served burgers, BBQ, Mexican food, Indian food and more. The entertainment was also great. They had live music with traditional Irish dancers. We especially enjoyed the glass sculptor from Waterford, who had designed and crafted two trophies for the game; the Keough-Naughton College Memorial Football Trophy and the Coach’s Award.

 

After almost three hours of festivities, we walked to the stadium after receiving some memorabilia from the staff at RDS. It took almost half an hour to reach our seats. The Aviva stadium has a very modern look. It is mainly used for football (soccer), rugby, concerts, and conferences. It has a capacity of 48,000 for American football. We all had a great time until the 4th quarter when Georgia Tech won the game with a 44-yard field goal as time expired.


That was not the ending we anticipated, but we had so much fun that it did not matter too much. We had an amazing day and we really enjoyed watching our FSU Seminoles play in another country.

 

 

 

 

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