Here is one of my favorite Ara Parseghian stories. It takes place on the sidelines of the '66 Michigan State game.

"It got to the point," says Ara Parseghian, "where it was ridiculous."

Ara's reference is to the attention given the 1966 Michigan State game. "To accomodate the media I had to hold press conferences before and after each practice," he says. "There's not much you can say that's newsworthy about a practice. But I had to relate in minute detail everything we did. Right down to whose jockstrap had snapped."

The hoopla surrounding game week strung out players from both teams to an incredible tension. Fans and press made it clear that it was the battle of the decade, if not the century. Eighteen year-olds can get pretty skittish under that kind of pressure.

And then the game. What can you say about it? It was a 10- 10 tie, and Notre Dame sat on the ball in the dying seconds, and Michigan State considered this a cowardly thing to do, and never the twain shall meet. But what players and coaches remember about the game is the craziness on the sidelines.

"The Michigan State band was right behind us. I don't think they ever quit playing. Between them and the crowd I was numb with the noise," says one Notre Damer.

"There were people - just regular fans - sitting on the team bench. I couldn't believe it," says another.

"What had happened," reflects Parseghian, "is that everyone and his brother who had favors coming asked for tickets. There just weren't enough seats in the stadium, so the schools gave out sideline passes - over a thousand of them. If I wanted to get to our bench to see an injured player I had to literally fight through the fans.

"I remember once I was trying to watch a third- down play. I start to move up the sideline and there, right next to me, is a man I'd never seen before. This guy is wearing a big fur coat and smoking a cigar. I said, 'What the hell are you doing here?...

"He said, 'Same thing you are, coach. I'm watching the game."'

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