Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/869474
4 SEPT. 11, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED D illon Murphy faced a bit of a conflict before this weekend. With a name as Irish as his, it's no surprise that he is a self-proclaimed Notre Dame fan and wants as badly as anyone to see his team return to glory this season. But as the manager of Irish Express — a Chicago-based company that specializes in arranging travel and enter- tainment for Notre Dame home games — Murphy couldn't put personal team allegiance in front of the massive number of Geor- gia Bulldog fans that called to book his service for the prime-time game with the Irish Sept. 9. In all, Murphy filled 17 buses with at least 50 pa- trons each for the two-hour trip back and forth from Chicago to South Bend for one of the most anticipated games in Notre Dame Stadium history. For comparison sake, Murphy said he chartered three buses last week for the Temple game. Eight Irish Express buses were re- served for this weekend by the usual crew of Chicago-based Irish fans wanting a convenient way to and from the game. The other nine buses were booked by Georgia fans, part of a red-and- black contingent of thousands invad- ing Chicago this week and eventu- ally South Bend on Saturday. Murphy said countless other Geor- gia fans were interested in his trans- portation service this weekend and were put on a waiting list, but he was unable to secure additional buses to accommodate them. "We're fully maxed out," Murphy said. "We could have a filled another 10 buses for this game, no doubt." So as the annual theories of irrel- evancy start to swirl again around an Irish football program that won only four games in 2016, the allure and interest surrounding this season and game continue to debunk all the naysayers. In fact, when it comes to second- ary online ticket prices for all college football games this season, Georgia versus Notre Dame was the hottest seat in the country, fetching a beefy $1,585 average price per seat. The Oct. 21 game against arch rival USC at Notre Dame Stadium ranks sev- enth on the secondary sales list with an average ticket price of $506. As the nation's largest provider of sports-travel management services, Anthony Travel contracts with 80 Division I schools, including Notre Dame, to assist with sports-travel needs. Steve Egan, Anthony's vice president of distinctive events, said the demand this weekend in South Bend is the greatest for a game he has ever seen here. "We're definitely dealing with a higher number of inquiries and book- ings on both the home and visitors sides for the Georgia game," Egan said. "We sold out of most of our ticket packages and most of our hotel room inventory about two months ago." Murphy said the transportation demand from the visiting Georgia fans is reminiscent of the 2015 season opener when Texas came to Notre Dame Stadium. "We sold out of 15 buses in no time flat," Murphy recalled of that game. "But if you could go whole hog and just kept sell- ing until you met demand, I'd say Georgia might be even big- ger than Texas." This is only the second meet- ing between Georgia and Notre Dame. They last played against each other in the 1981 Sugar Bowl at New Orleans, a game the Bulldogs won 17-10 to claim the 1980 national cham- pionship. The University of Georgia was granted 8,000 tickets for this weekend's game. Those seats were gone nearly as fast as they were posted, maybe faster. "If we would've had 20,000 tickets, I could have sold them with no problem," Georgia ticket operation manager Tim Cearley told DawgNation.com. "I've been in this office for 20 years and, in terms of out-of-town games, this is off the charts from a demand perspective." Ironically, the rivalry this weekend between rabid football fan bases will extend beyond the Georgia-Notre Dame game when the Chicago Bears host the Atlanta Falcons Sunday at Soldier Field in the season opener for both teams. For about $140, you can pick up a 50-yard line seat for the NFL game. But in terms of the hottest ticket in the country this weekend, that dis- tinction belongs to Notre Dame- Georgia, where the most expensive online seat is commanding nearly $3,500. "The number of times I have heard the phrase 'bucket list' is really sur- prising to me when it comes to peo- ple wanting to get to a Notre Dame game," Murphy said. "Football fans with no affiliation to either school feel like they have to get to Notre Dame Stadium, at least once." ✦ The Blue & Gold Prepare For A Red & Black Invasion UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com Thousands of Georgia fans are expected to follow head coach Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs to South Bend this Saturday. PHOTO COURTESY GEORGIA