Irish obsessed fan looks to pass on love of Notre Dame to next generation

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- While Saturday's Blue-Gold game won't go for or against Notre Dame's record for 2026, for one family, today might be the next chapter of a lifelong passion.

Repping the Blue and Gold can sometimes be a full-time job, and for some, it's better described as all-consuming.

For Katie Bell and her family, it’s more than fandom, it’s a lifestyle. Don’t believe me? Take it from Katie herself on the birth of her third child, 3-year-old Theo.

“It was scheduled kind of around the Clemson game on November 3rd, 2022. I had had him two weeks before that, and made sure I was able to be in attendance at that game where we won and then stormed the field, and if you a storm a field two weeks after you’ve just had a C-section, there’s a chance that you will rip open your stitches...I have heard that that could happen," said Katie.

Katie's Irish obsession started young and goes back generations.

"So, I remember growing up as a Notre Dame fan, but I can't pinpoint one specific moment where my dad was like, 'We like Notre Dame.' It was just engrained at a young age, my dad grew up a Notre Dame fan, and he and his dad would go out to football games and so he just raised me like that, and I decided to raise my kids the same way," said Katie.

A pool table, throw pillow, signed memorabilia, and of course, enough Irish gear to fit an army, or maybe a navy makes more sense.

While Katie would love to have this type of setup at her own house, she's helped erect this tribute to the Irish at her parents' house in Granger, so her kids can have their own toy cave.

"In 2012, it was the first year I had ever seen an undefeated Notre Dame football team, I was 19. I opened this on Christmas, and it was a book that my dad made for me, and he wrote a note and surprised me with National Championship tickets to see what was obviously the Alabama game that we don't have to talk about, but this is the most sentimental piece."

Katie and her husband have taken the kids to basketball games before, something that clearly made an impact on 5-and-a-half-year-old Annie.

"Mommy lets me get popcorn, she lets me get cotton candy," said Annie.

But now, it's time to see if the Bell kids can handle the Cathedral of College Football.

The 2026 Blue-Gold game will mark the first time the entire family steps foot inside Notre Dame Stadium together for live game action, potentially getting another generation on the path to cheer, cheer, for old Notre Dame.

"I think I'm excited for them to just see it in person, because we watch all of the away games here with them. I think them just seeing it all in person, like this is something real, for them it's mainly been on TV," said Katie.

Katie says one of the things she has told her kids in preparation for Saturday is, "This is where we live from September to November, block out the next 30 years for me."