(WSBT) It's been the "worst of times" for Notre Dame football — records have fallen, for all the wrong reasons.

So how has the game day atmosphere held up?

WSBT Sports went into the crowds to take a temperature from the die-hards themselves to see what's been going on.

"May God strike me dead if I use that word. I’ll never use that word. You use it; I’m not using it," said Coach Charlie Weis.

That’s what Weis said on media day when asked if it would be a rebuilding year.

After a program-worst nine defeats, Notre Dame nation would gladly pony-up for such a year.

During a season where the program's depths have been continually challenged, the fans in the stands have remained up to the test, but on both sides of the fence.

Indeed, ND’s traditional experience is unrivaled in college football.

"Whenever I walk in to this stadium, that I died and went to heaven is what I feel like," said student Brendan McCarthy.

"We just walked in and you can feel a little buzz," said another fan.

On the other side, you have fans with three major complaints, other than the record, of course.

TV timeouts are too long.

"It gets slow. There's a lot of people old like me here, and it gets quiet in between all the timeouts. It's made a big difference," said Warsaw's Denny Fuller.

"It pays for everything so I can’t say no, [but] it does disrupt the rhythm," said fan Joe Cavanagh.

The reports of patrons getting yelled at for standing and cheering seem to have increased.

“I'm sorry to hear some people have bad manners, I guess they're everywhere,” said fan Donna Goldcamp, in from Hawaii.

"I think everyone should be on their feet at all times, unless you don't have legs," said McCarthy.

And too many people don't stay for the entire game — win or lose.

“Why stay around to see what we already know is going to happen? And to beat the traffic," admitted Bev Brazauskas from Connecticut.

Granted, warts like these are more likely to be exposed in a season like this one. Spirit and success go hand-in-hand.

You couldn't hear yourself think two years ago when Notre Dame came within a fourth down stop of nipping then-#1 USC.

The bottom-line remains: Fans still have faith in the stadium's home-field advantage, but it might need a make-over.

"The spirit is still there. In the next several years we potentially are gonna have two national titles,” forecasted Ft. Wayne's Michael Joyner. “So people are in tune to that fact. You have to rebuild at some point in time and that’s what we’re going for.”