Meet Obi, the shirtless junior student who fired up Notre Dame Stadium
The walk back from Notre Dame Stadium to Dunne Hall took longer for Obioha Onwuanibe than the entire fourth quarter of Saturday’s 41-17 Irish victory over Central Michigan lasted.
That’s because Onwuanibe, who goes by “Obi,” became a video board star during that fourth quarter. So much so that he was repeatedly stopped for autographs and photographs due to his newfound celebrity on his hour-long walk back to his dorm.
“A little kid came up to me with a football,” Onwuanibe said Sunday, “and his parents said, ‘Can you sign it for him?’ I was like, ‘OK.’”
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Onwuanibe, a junior computer science major from Laurel, Md., gained fame by sticking to the same traditions he’s been doing since his freshman year in the student section. As is customary for Dunne Hall residents, Onwuanibe took his shirt off for “Fourth Quarter Skins.” No matter the weather, shirts come off during the fourth quarter for the men of Dunne Hall.
The Notre Dame Stadium video board production crew found Onwuanibe during a break in the fourth quarter, and he delighted the crowd by swinging his shirt in a circle over his head. It wasn’t Onwuanibe’s first appearance on the stadium video board during his Notre Dame career, but it was his first time shirtless on the big screen.
“Then it panned to someone else,” Onwuanibe said. “I was like, ‘OK, that was fun while it lasted.’ So, I started to rest my arm. Next thing I know, I’m back on the video board. Then I was like, ‘OK, I got to go even bigger now.’”
The crowd cheered as Onwuanibe exuded so much energy. But what happened next was even more unexpected. The crowd started booing when anyone else was shown on the video board.
Onwuanibe didn’t realize what was happening at first. He looked to the video board and didn’t see anyone doing something that would prompt boos. Then he looked to the field to find nothing boo-worthy either. Then one of the production crew members pointed to Onwuanibe to let him know the crowd just wanted more of him.
“Every time they tried to go away, everybody started booing,” Onwuanibe said. “So they had to come back to me.”
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The attention on Onwuanibe was only beginning at that point. The in-stadium host allowed Onwuanibe to introduce himself on the video board before using him to pump up the crowd again. The student Leprechaun mascot came into the stands to swing his green jacket over his head alongside him.
“I was just nervous if my arm was going to fall off,” Onwuanibe said on account of all the shirt swinging.
Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman, who threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in the game, gave Onwuanibe a shout-out during his on-field interview after the game. The crowd was so loud around Onwuanibe at that point that he didn’t even realize what Hartman said.
Football played a significant role in Onwuanibe coming to Notre Dame as a student in the first place. He first remembers looking into Notre Dame during 2012 when linebacker Manti Te’o starred for the 12-1 Irish. Years later, when a Notre Dame representative visited his high school, Onwuanibe learned he could play intramural tackle football as a student at Notre Dame.
The academic opportunities ultimately attracted Onwuanibe to apply and enroll at Notre Dame, but he promptly signed up to play Interhall Tackle Football as a freshman. Dunne Hall combined with St. Edward’s Hall to win the league with the championship game played in Notre Dame Stadium, where he became famous for a few moments on Saturday.
He’ll be back in the crowd Saturday night when the No. 9 Irish (4-0) host No. 6 Ohio State (3-0). Nothing has been planned yet, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the production crew puts the spotlight back on him. He’ll keep coming back to games regardless.
“Truthfully,” Onwuanibe said, “I was already planning on going to all of them.”
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