Hey There! You Can Call Me Boomer

Hey OFD readers! My name is Matt Boomer (you’re welcome to refer to me using that last name; it’s what just about everyone calls me except for members of my immediate family, since that would get confusing), and I’m joining the team here at One Foot Down. Although I was raised in the sunlit rolling hills of the East Bay in Northern California, I have nonetheless been a Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan for as long as I can remember knowing what a football was and why people wanted to carry it into the end zone. For this I have undying gratitude to my loving parents, who took great pains to raise my sister and me in the One True Fandom.

In 2012, I made the long journey to begin my freshman year at Notre Dame, where I resided in O’Neill Hall (come at me, Matt Greene) and studied Political Science, History and Business Economics. My arrival at this particular time was fortunate, as it meant I got to witness the return to glory of Notre Dame football, led by our god-king Manti Te’o in a season that spontaneously ended without postseason play. I was also a three-time participant and one-time champion in the Bengal Bouts boxing tournament, a truly unique and awesome Notre Dame sports tradition about which I hope to write here at some later date.

After graduating in 2016 I made my way from the plains of northern Indiana to the larger and much, much hotter plains of Texas, where the stars at night are indeed big and bright and where I witnessed my first post-graduate Notre Dame football game, after which we all figured the Texas Longhorns were back (narrator: they weren’t). Residing in Dallas as an Irish fan during college football season is not too difficult, as most people are fans and/or alumni of some Big 12 or SEC school or another and regard the Irish as a curiosity rather than a hated rival. We also have a surprisingly robust network of Domers here in the Big D (find us at British Beverage Company in Uptown for game watches if you’re in town).

Most importantly, Dallas is where I met my wife. In addition to being the most important person in my life and a gift from God for whom I give thanks each day, she also went to NYU, which means she entered our relationship untainted by a pre-existing association with any college football team. This meant I was free to brainwash invite her into the wonderful, crazy traditions of Notre Dame football, which she has embraced without hesitation.

I’m thankful to Josh and the rest of the team for the opportunity to bring my takes, be they hot, cold, or medium-rare, on Irish sports to the big stage here at OFD.