Notre Dame bookstore stocked with Orange Bowl merch

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- ABC57 took a trip to the famous Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore on Wednesday to get a look at the newest College Football Playoff merchandise celebrating the Fighting Irish being in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

"Well, obviously this year we're going to the playoffs. It's a really exciting time. Notre Dame hasn't gotten this far in a while, and it's so exciting to see us leading the charge into the into the championship," said Marketing Manager for the Hammes, Wren Martin.

"Because of that, obviously, a lot of our playoff merch has been a big seller this year. We've seen a lot of that stuff flying off the shelves. People are really excited to be a part of this historical time, and so that's the hot selling item. People want to get that playoff merch. They want to get the branded matchup tees, the graphics. It's really exciting for the fans."

When asked about the most popular items flying off the shelves, Martin told ABC57 clothing is the hot seller. 

"People are really looking for those graphic tees. Obviously, the hoodies are a big deal, especially now that we're hitting the Indiana weather. People want to be in something warm, but the graphic tees, people are really excited about seeing that that new graphic every time gets people fired up," said Martin.

"I mean, the awesome thing is, this year, we have all of our champion or championship merch online, so if there are fans who are out of state, they can still get that merch. We want to make sure it's available for everyone, and not just our Indiana fans. The awesome thing about Notre Dame is we have fans everywhere. We have alumni everywhere, and having it online is a key component of making sure everyone can get a hold of it."

At the end of our chat, Martin echoed the sentiment of all Irish fans. 

"Go Irish. We've got this. Let's drive it home. We're almost there. Keep pushing. We were so Close. We're so close."