“Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen and Welcome to Notre Dame Stadium”: Mike Collins, The Voice of Notre Dame Stadium, Retires after 39 Seasons
When looking at the 2020 Notre Dame football schedule, the game I wanted to attend the most was the last home game of the season. The reason wasn’t because it was Senior Day, but because it was going to be Mike Collins’ last game. The name Mike Collins might not ring any bells to most people, but if you’ve been to a game at Notre Dame Stadium you for sure have heard his voice. With the change of schedule due to Covid-19, that meant Collins’ last game before retirement would be Syracuse in front a small crowd – unfortunate, to say the least. Collins graduated from Notre Dame in 1967 and has been the public address announcer at Notre Dame Stadium for almost 40 years. Collins has been the voice Notre Dame Stadium for some of the biggest games in Fighting Irish history, like Miami in ’88, Florida State in ’93 and most recently Clemson this year.
One of the biggest reasons I love college football more than the NFL is because I feel that the atmosphere is a thousand times better at a college game. Collins was a big reason why the atmosphere was great at Notre Dame games. There were two lines he would say at every game that stuck out the most. The first was how Collins started every game, “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Notre Dame Stadium!” The second line is more well-known; the first time he said it was before the Notre Dame vs Florida State game in ’93, when the Irish took the field and that was, “HERE…COME THE IRISH.” Four simple words that are now spoken before almost every Notre Dame sporting event, not just football.
There are a handful of things I love about Notre Dame games and hearing Collins call the game is one of them. Next year when fans are back in the stands (hopefully) at Notre Dame Stadium, things will be a little different without Collins calling the game. Irish fans won’t have to look far to be reminded of Collins though, because right above the tunnel where the players walk out are the 4 simple words, “HERE COME THE IRISH.”
Thanks Mike Collins, for making Notre Dame games special.