INDIANAPOLIS – The countdown to the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship is on.
Some Notre Dame fans are making the trip down to Atlanta but others will be enjoying the game from different restaurants and bars hosting watch parties across the state.
Notre Dame hasn’t won a national championship since 1988, yet Fighting Irish fans believe this is the year to finally win it again.
“Go Irish! Beat Buckeyes,” said Mike and Rose Rozembajgier, the co-presidents of the Notre Dame Club of Indianapolis. “This is the day and we are the team!”
Some lucky fans have the chance to see Notre Dame play in front of their very own eyes inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday.
“I think I am just excited to be a part of that atmosphere,” said Eric Jenkins, the 2024 Indiana Teacher of the Year who won free tickets. “Watching it on TV is one thing but actually being there, standing there on the field, is going to be an experience that I don’t think I am ready for. I haven’t really wrapped my head around what it’s going to be like.”
Jenkins gets to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with his dad.
“The number one thing I am excited for is that as my guest, I get to take my dad,” he said. “This is one of those bucket list items for him. He is a huge college football fan, so I get to be with him. That will be the most exciting… He just loves college football so much so it’s a real bonding moment for us.”
And others will be enjoying the game here at home.
“The passion and spirit of Notre Dame is alive and well in Indianapolis,” Mike Rozembajgier said.
One of the biggest watch parties happening Monday night is at the newly opened Tom’s Watch Bar in downtown Indianapolis. Here fans will find 160 television screens, plenty of food and drinks, plus a chance to win a free jersey.
“Guinness will also be here,” Mike Rozembajgier said. “They are going to do a personalized Guinness pour, so if you come and have a Guinness, they will personalize the foam on top of the Guinness.”
This is a historic season that fans said they will always remember but the best way to finish it off is with a national title.
“Whether it’s our fans in Atlanta, our fans here in Indianapolis at Tom’s Watch Bar or the North Side at Bier Brewery in Noblesville, whether the fans in South Bend on campus or in Chicago, all around the world, we will be cheering for the Irish staying true to the spirit of Notre Dame and bringing home a victory for the team,” the Rozembajgiers said.
The watch party at Tom’s Watch Bar starts around 6 p.m. on Monday. There will also be another watch party in Noblesville at the Bier Brewery.
The Notre Dame Club of Indianapolis is still taking donations for the Sacks for Sacks initiative. To learn more and to donate, click here.
