Notre Dame Campus brings the energy ahead of Orange Bowl 

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- The Fighting Irish's historic playoff run has been a windfall for Michiana bars and restaurants as fans flood in to watch the games airing exclusively on ESPN.

"We are exhilarated, we are ready to go, we are ready for a big, fat, 'W,'" said Rakell Henderson. "Like a kid before Christmas, we are really excited for this win."

Henderson is the general manager at Legends of Notre Dame, an on-campus sports bar, just feet from Notre Dame Stadium.

"It's the energy that you instantly feel when you walk on this campus," she said. "It's a culture that I cannot explain or compare to anything else."

Staff at Legend's is as excited as the inevitable customers, flooding the bar and any other South Bend haunt, all guaranteed to play the game.

"To be a part of this, we are a part of history, all of us," Henderson said.

It's a history not too many alumni have seen, and this is the farthest the Fighting Irish have gone in college playoffs in more than a decade!

"This energy hasn't been tapped into since 2012 and before that, 1988, and it's here again," Henderson said. "Wget to be a part of it. Obviously, we're bringing the most energy ever brought before."