U2 is coming to Notre Dame. Just in case you've been out of the country or you haven't come out of a Fitzpatrick computer lab in the last three weeks, here that is again: U2 is coming to Notre Dame.

That's right, this Wednesday, one of the biggest rock bands in the world will play one of the smallest venues on their tour when U2 kick off the third leg of their North American tour here at Notre Dame.

And as students busily overwhelm the University's bandwidth limit downloading Joshua Tree MP3s, it's hard not to get caught up in the sense of excitement growing around campus.

"I was really surprised they came," senior Stacie Green said. "I'm so excited. I think it will be amazing, because the place is so small. I saw them in D.C. and the place was huge, and it was still awesome. So I'm sure the show here will be great."

Truth is, you'll be hard-pressed to find students who don't share Green's enthusiasm.

"People are really excited," senior Nick Wymbs, music director for WVFI, said. "U2 is the biggest and most significant modern rock band of our generation. Previous acts [to come to campus] since freshman year don't even compare."

But just before students allow themselves to get swelled heads thinking they get to see the greatest concert in the history of the Notre Dame, there is one name, one man, they might want to keep in mind: Elvis Presley. Oh yes, at the height of his career, Elvis rocked the Joyce. Notre Dame students were actually privy to the dashing good looks and mesmerizing hips of the King of Rock. One can only imagine the Brothers of Holy Cross, quietly gathered in one corner of the Joyce, secretly tapping their feet to the beat of "Hound Dog."

Those are going to be some seriously big shoes to fill.

But regardless of past high-profile performances – which happen to include Elton John, Aerosmith, Garth Brooks and Frank Sinatra, just to name a few – there hasn't been a buzz this big on campus in quite some time.

"People have been hearing the rumors that U2 might be coming forever. Now it's finally happening," senior Matthew Smith said. "This is going to be one of the things people look back on as one of their greatest experiences at Notre Dame. This is on a completely other level from anything else Notre Dame has ever had."

Bigger than Elvis?

"It's clearly as big an event as we've had," Joyce Center events manager Joe Sassano said. But Sassano pointed out that this is not the first time the Joyce Center has sold-out. He said though there will be some added security on the floor, the Joyce will not be doing anything out of the ordinary for an event of this magnitude. "We're not beefing up security," he said, "we're merely operating at our maximum level."

Most students, however, seem to have a significantly grander vision of the concert. Even the concert's promoter, Andrew Wilson of Clear Channel Entertainment, voiced his enthusiasm for the show. "Something like this is very unique," Wilson said, "this is the biggest band in the world playing such a small venue at Notre Dame. I am definitely looking forward to this."

Adding to the mystique surrounding this show is the fact that the entire concert will be broadcast live on the band's official Web site, U2.com. According to the page, "U2.Com is offering fans a unique ringside seat for the band's critically acclaimed show — live from Notre Dame, Indiana. So get comfortable and enjoy the show, with views from all over the stage — including a pioneering 360-degree camera delivering you to `the heart' of the Elevation live experience."

For truly zealous fans, the Web cast will be replayed on Thursday at 9 p.m. CET (that would be 2 p.m. our time) for European fans. So just in case you want to relive the memories of getting manhandled by Joyce security guards as you attempted to climb onto stage and profess your undying love to the Edge, you have that option.

Finally, one thing that seems to have been lost in all the previously mentioned hoopla of this concert, is a radically different view on U2 coming to Notre Dame. As anxious as all us students are to see U2, U2 have to be at least a tiny bit anxious to see us as well. A band like U2 doesn't come to Notre Dame because they heard the Joyce has some really great acoustics. U2 had to make a conscious decision to play at this school. Seriously, think about that. For every U2 CD and every U2 poster at Notre Dame, Bono, the Edge, Larry and Adam want to play for us just as much as we want to hear them play.

Yes, we all probably have a ton of questions we would love to ask them, but think about it, they must have at least a few questions they'd like to ask us. And no, none of us are famous (yet), but we were accepted to one of the most elite and well known Catholic universities in the world. That's got to say something.

So just think about that this Wednesday, when U2 rock the Joyce like no one ever has. For all our admiration toward them, they have at least some admiration for us too. And it's a relationship like that can not help but create an amazing performance.

So Elvis they may not be, but this will still be the greatest concert the Joyce has ever held.

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