Notre Dame Fan Cave: Mike Simmerman shows off an epic set up in West Virginia

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- Continuing our Fan Cave series on ABC57 Saturday Kickoff, taking you somewhere a little farther away… West Virginia!

Die-Hard Notre Dame Fan Mike Simmerman building his own fan cave there complete with movie theatre seating and one of a kind memorabilia.

Simmerman has never lived in South Bend, but his ties to the Fighting Irish go all the way back to the Frank Leahy era when his father sold programs during Notre Dame home games.

“His first job was selling popcorn and programs at Notre Dame stadium on game days during the Frank Leahy era. He was just a young teenager 12 or 13 and he would go to the stadium on game day and hustle whatever they would let him hustle.”

That connection sparking Simmerman to start collecting!

“Tiffany: How long have you been collecting stuff for your fan cave? Mike: Well, what you see here Tiffany is probably about 30 year of accumulated buying and trading and swapping. Finding these unique one off, one of a kind pieces that you can’t find anywhere else. Of course I’ve got Frank Leahy, my dad’s hero, Johnny Lou Jack, we’ve got signed items from every Heisman trophy winner, I’ve got all the coaches, stubs from every Notre Dame USC game going all the way back to the first one.”

As for Saturday, Simmerman says he excepts another close game for the Irish against Clemson, but win or lose, he’s still calling it a winning team.

“I think this is a team that has the heart of the champion, they’ve proved it and Coach Kelly has done everything at Notre Dame except win a national championship. That’s the only thing he has left to prove and I think this team gives him the best chance to do that.”