Notre Dame moves into March Madness tournament; local bars hope to see big turnouts

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame's Men's Basketball Team is heading into the March Madness Tournament for the first time since 2017 after beating out Rutgers in double overtime.

Local bar owners hope that the luck of the Irish will rub off and bring in big crowds as Notre Dame will go toe-to-toe with Alabama tomorrow night. 

“We definitely expect a full house at four o’clock in the afternoon," said Jeff Morauski, co-owner of Taphouse on the Edge. 

Bar owners were already preparing for a big weekend with March Madness kicking off-- but now with Notre Dame in the mix-- they're saying it's looking to be even more exciting:

“Everybody’s excited that Notre Dame’s finally made the tournament," said Morauski.

And the timing couldn't be better!

“It’s St. Patrick’s Day," added Morauski. "It’s kind of our holiday here for the Fighting Irish in South Bend—and what a magical moment late last night, or early this morning—them pulling off this victory!”

Local bars saw big turnouts that night-- and they're expecting more crowds after the big win. 

"Any time we can get IU and Notre Dame and Purdue in the tournament, it's gonna add to the excitement and the business," said Joe Mittiga, owner of Corby's. 

And the bars are working to make it all the more exciting for their patrons--

“Tomorrow should be electric here. We’ll be playing the fight song, the crowd should be packed!” said Morauski, adding “Guys schedule this day off, you know? They take the day off on the calendar, they come in, they plan to have a couple beers and watch basketball all day long, maybe some side bets going on, everybody’s filling out a bracket—it’s just a fun time!”

The Fighting Irish are set to take on the Alabama Crimson tide at 4:15pm on Friday.