Notre Dame Leprechaun tells IrishCentral about game and 'day I will never forget'

'I didn’t stop jumping around – I probably lost about five pounds!'

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The Fighting Irish kicked off their season with an incredible performance against Nevada, and the newest Notre Dame Leprechaun was there to cheer the team on and pump up the crowd along the way.

“It was the most fun I have ever had, and a day I will never forget,” Dan Collins told IrishCentral. “The Irish could not have started off the season any better, and it was amazing just to be a part of it."

Collins, an Irish Studies student at ND, donned the famous green suit and became the official mascot to cheer on the Fighting Irish football team at their home opener on Saturday.

“The team definitely went beyond my expectations, especially the defense . . . Those guys were flying around the field. The energy – I’ve never seen so much of it out of our team in the past 3 years. We had an amazing game and amazing performance by everyone,” he said.

But the players weren’t the only ones who got a workout during the game. The announcer noticed the Leprechaun’s spirit, telling the crowd that “Even the Leprechaun looks like he’s working hard today.”

“I didn’t stop jumping around – I probably lost about 5 pounds,” Collins joked.

But the dedicated mascot had so much energy, he hardly noticed how hard he was working. “Being down there with the team carries me,” Collins explained, though he admitted he “collapsed” immediately after he got home from the game.

The Leprechaun’s work was cut out for him leading up to the Fighting Irish season opener. His first task was to energize the fans at the pep rally the night before.

“I was pretty nervous for that but I was really excited,” Collins said. The Notre Dame student blasted a pre-game playlist that was sure to get the Irish in the spirit. Collins and the crowd got in the “Fighting Irish mood” by jamming out to the Young Dubliners, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys and Metallica’s version of the Irish classic, “Whiskey in the Jar.”

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Nster.com