Fans start making their way into South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It’s not Nicholas Despins’ first trip to South Bend, but it’s one he’ll appreciate more than others.

He’s in town to see Saturday’s football matchup between Notre Dame and Stanford, but also to check out the city for a potential move.

“I’m just seeing what South Bend has to offer,” said Despins. “Because I might be living here for four years.”

Despins is applying for college at Notre Dame. He has a brother attending the university already, but wanted to check it out for himself before making a choice.

“I’ll definitely be doing a lot of visiting around,” said Despins. “I don’t know much about the area, so I’m looking forward to learning about it.”

Restaurants and campus attractions will be at the top of his list, but he really wants to take in the atmosphere of college football.

“Once it gets to Friday night, I think there will be a lot of pre-gaming and staying up late,” said Despins. “I know ESPN is visiting, so we’re going to try and get on TV there, so it’ll be pretty exciting.”

From there, it’s back home.

While the airport in South Bend gave him no problems on Thursday evening, he isn’t expecting that same luck come Sunday.

“I’m sure going home, the airport will be busy and a lot more packed,” said Despins. “I’m hoping for no delays, but I’m prepared to stay out of the cold, though. It’s a lot colder up here.”