Hilyer remarked about the number of Notre Dame fans in Miami and at the stadium for the game. The Irish faithful probably took note of the Crimsonettes, too, because Notre Dame doesn’t have majorettes.

Alabama’s band faced a portion of the stadium packed with Notre Dame fans during their on-field performances.

“It kind of amps you up,” Hilyer said about the stage. “When Alabama football is good, we get to do a lot of fun things.”

Hilyer and Thomas will have one more year to add to their experiences in their respective roles (“We’re a little spoiled; we expect to go to Pasadena next year,” Hilyer said). Nelson will remain in Tuscaloosa, attending graduate school, but she will not perform with the Crimsonettes.

She will have to re-accustom herself to watching Alabama football games in “regular gameday clothes, not in my sequins,” she said.

She will once again watch the Crimsonettes perform from a distance, but this time it will be with nostalgia and not the longing she felt as a elementary schooler attending games with her aunt and uncle.

“Being there so often, you start taking it for granted, but once I’m on the other side of it and start looking back, I’ll realize how special it was,” she said.