A rolling piano coasts around Indiana’s South Bend International Airport, the musician tapping out the Notre Dame fight song for incoming travelers to hear. Later, at Notre Dame Stadium, fans eagerly wait to cheer on the Fighting Irish and deride the USC football team.
And when those Trojans get inside, who knows if their locker room will have hot water or not?
“For me, Notre Dame is the rival, even though people would argue that it’s UCLA,” former USC quarterback Todd Marinovich said. “I never beat Notre Dame, so I had that angst towards them and still to this day.”
The cross-country rivalry between USC and Notre Dame is an intense and historic one – Saturday will mark their 96th meeting. Including vacated victories, Notre Dame leads 52–38–5 in a rivalry that began in 1926.
But the storied duel, which has awarded the Jeweled Shillelagh to the victor since 1952, could end after this season if the schools don’t come to an agreement and renew the game contract.
College football could be gutted of one of its oldest traditions, but there’s more than lore to consider.
‘I hope it continues’
It’s still unclear as to whether the nearly century-old rivalry will continue, although USC head coach Lincoln Riley and athletic director Jen Cohen have come out in support of it.
“I love it,” Riley told reporters. “I hope it continues. And hopefully we can find a way to get that done where it makes sense for both sides and not just one. We’ll continue to work.”
Notre Dame is a challenging out-of-conference opponent for USC in a college football climate that values winning over everything – especially when it comes to making the College Football Playoff cut.
What cannot be denied is the Fighting Irish have won six of the past seven clashes, with the Trojans winning in Riley’s first season in 2022.
The midseason travel is inconvenient, especially on top of the cross-country trips that the Trojans now have to do since becoming a Big Ten Conference team last year.
There is a decision to be made between tradition and progress – but emotions, economics and the necessity to win keep the choice from being simple.
A community’s cash flow
St. Joseph County, where South Bend and Notre Dame University are located, sees an average financial impact of $36 million per home college football game.
“Of course, not all games are created equal. And this game, especially, isn’t,” said Jeff Jarnecke, executive director of Visit South Bend Mishawaka.
Although an exact estimate isn’t available, the revenue generated by the USC-Notre Dame rivalry is significantly higher compared to when other teams come into town.
A farewell to rivalry weekend means goodbye to the most important weekend for a local economy that thrives on football.
Lodging and dining businesses get the biggest boost on rivalry weekend. The 5,200 rooms in the 52 hotels in St. Joseph County are filled – and not just for one night. Hotels will introduce a two-night or sometimes even three-night minimum for traveling fans, and rates are higher based on demand.
Hotels are booked up in neighboring LaPorte County and Elkhart County, as well.
“This is one that’s been circled on the hoteliers’ part and on the fans’ part that is generally the one that’s going to sell out first,” Jarnecke said, “that’s going to fill up first and has a greater impact and better benefits to local businesses compared to some other football games.”
Jarnecke added that another 1,400 to 1,500 private residences will be available for short-term stays through rental websites like VRBO and Airbnb, which also can require a minimum stay. Homeowners also offer up their front lawns as gameday parking spots for up to $100.
Visitors spend money at big-box stores like Walmart or Target on food for the weekend and tried-and-true local restaurants like the Linebacker Lounge, Corby’s Irish Pub and The Lauber all benefit, as well.
The rivalry captures the heart, while the dollar signs catch the eye.
“Not that it can’t be replaced along the way, but there is something special and something so unique about the rivalry,” Jarnecke said. “We’ll leave it to our partners and friends at the university if it makes sense for them.
“But certainly, from a fans’ perspective and a local perspective, this is always a special one that businesses and fans alike have circled on the calendar in St. Joseph County to keep an eye on each and every year.”
How long does tradition last?
Before Max Browne was a color analyst and content creator, he was a USC quarterback trying to make his way to the locker room at Notre Dame Stadium as aggravated fans dropped curse words and jeers on him and his teammates.
“I remember the first time I went to Notre Dame,” Browne said, “it was, I believe, Ed Orgeron, one of his first road games (as interim head coach in 2013), so him getting off the bus hooting and hollering was a blast. That’s a core memory.”
Experiences like that are now used as the backbone for Browne’s video content on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and the USC faithful comprise one of his biggest audiences. That’s especially true for YouTube, where USC-centric videos collect up to 29,000 views.
In a recent film breakdown of the USC-Michigan game titled “The New Big Ten Bully,” USC fans flood the comment section, and Browne teases that he may start doing USC breakdowns each week if the Trojans keep winning.
There are sporadic requests for USC-Notre Dame content, but Browne doesn’t want to pigeonhole himself and has made intentional career moves to help himself build a national audience.
If the rivalry ceased to exist, his business of content creation probably would not suffer. College football fans who engage with online sports videos, stories and comment sections would likely move on to the next big game or news item.
Browne also observed a generational divide in college football, and the rivalry between the Trojans and Irish may fall into that gap.
“As you get into Gen Z and the next generation, things evolve,” Browne said. “The example I always use is if you talk to someone over the age of 45, Oregon is not a blue-blood program. If you walk to anyone under the age of 40, Oregon is a blue-blood program.
“But it’ll be a fascinating decision and I think it’ll have ripple effects.”
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