Guinness, Scotch eggs and Notre Dame football. The only thing missing was an Irish victory

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Amber Goddard, the manager at O’Rourke’s Public House, scanned the crowd minutes before kickoff of Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship game. Just across the street from Notre Dame’s campus, Guinness was poured and Scotch eggs and Reuben fritters were served as tables filled with students and locals eager to watch the Fighting Irish attempt to claim their first national title since 1988.

“I said I would make a special cocktail for Ohio State fans too, but when they played here at home last year, it wasn’t great,” Goddard said. “Those people are kind of crazy. I do have a cocktail made for each team tonight in case we have Ohio State fans.

“But I don’t see any red in here.”

Buckeyes fans didn’t end up disrupting the sea of green, but the opposing team was soon felt, as Ohio State scored on its first three possessions en route to a 34-23 victory. Some fans left at halftime, with Notre Dame down 21-7, not yet accepting defeat but preferring to lock in with their beloved Irish from home.

But the day didn’t start like this.

If there’s anything more “Notre Dame football” than the program itself, check out the bar down the street from campus with the catchy name.

At least, that’s what third-year Notre Dame law student Sean Anderson says about The Linebacker Lounge as “Rattlin’ Bog” blares in the background, with popcorn and beer just beginning to flow for the night. Kickoff was still more than three hours away, but Irish faithful started arriving in the morning as ESPN set up cameras to catch fans’ reactions throughout the evening’s broadcast.

“It’s going to be crazy,” The Linebacker Lounge manager Chantal Porter said. “We had people show up at 11 today to get a spot.”

Though the place encapsulates everything a local dive bar should be — small, loud, random yet charming signage — it’s a destination spot for others. Boston native Andrew Devanna drove 15 hours by himself to experience this. His grandfather taught him to be a Notre Dame fan when he was young. Devanna had never been to South Bend, but he took a leave from the Navy to make the trip this week and was referred to The Linebacker Lounge by other fans on Reddit.

The Linebacker Lounge in South Bend was packed with Notre Dame faithful Monday night. (Jayna Bardahl / The Athletic)

“It’s one of those programs that has been waiting for a national title,” Devanna said of Notre Dame. “We got close in 2012. But this is a program-defining moment. And to be here, to be in South Bend, could be one of the greatest sports moments of my life.”

In the pregame, optimism was high. Anderson, who comes from a family of Georgia Bulldogs fans and alums, assured everyone he now “bleeds green.”

“In terms of a storybook ending: a Notre Dame victory over Ohio State, a team that’s beaten us around two years in a row with a coach that seems to have a personal issue with Notre Dame and our last national champion coach,” Anderson said about the Ryan Day-Lou Holtz feud. “If there’s a team Notre Dame fans have a well-earned animosity to and, you know, a healthy respect for, it has to be Ohio State.”

Anderson was joined by fellow law student Harry-Stephen Weeks, who attended Notre Dame’s first three Playoff games. “For two days, all I thought about was football and beating the Hoosiers,” Weeks said, reflecting on the high point of the first-round game in South Bend.

When kickoff arrives, “Let’s go, Irish” chants bounce off the walls at O’Rourke’s. They grow louder when Notre Dame’s first drive eats up 10 minutes of game time and results in a touchdown. High-fives and hugs all around.

The energy fades as Ohio State answers with a 21-point second quarter. At halftime, first-year student Ava Schapman tries to find holes in the Buckeyes’ resume with her friends.

“Their loss to Michigan, that’s a little suspicious,” Schapman said. “But honestly, Notre Dame lost to NIU, so we can’t really talk about that much.”

Plenty of halftime hope is placed in Marcus Freeman. Patrons talk about how Notre Dame has to pressure Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, who finished the first half 14-of-15 and a perfect 6-for-6 on third down. The Buckeyes’ range of playmakers is discussed. How do you stop Quinshon Judkins, who entered halftime with two touchdowns before scoring again three minutes into the second half, when he’s far from Ohio State’s only option?

“We’re a little nervous, a little sad, but we trust that whatever is going to happen should happen,” first-year student Ana María González said. “We’ve had some comebacks after halftime.”

Two more Ohio State scores dig the Irish into a 31-7 hole. And just as more fans seem ready to surrender, Jaden Greathouse breaks multiple tackles on his way to a 34-yard catch-and-run touchdown, reigniting a new energy when the fans desperately need it.

The spark might not have surprised Weeks, who pointed to Greathouse as one of Notre Dame’s key playmakers earlier in the day. Greathouse finished with a season-high 128 yards and two TDs on six catches.

“There are a lot of players like Greathouse, who despite all the complaints about the offense are there all the time, putting the work they need to put in and getting big plays when it really matters,” Weeks said.

As the fourth quarter begins, the fans who remain aren’t giving up. A passionate duo remains staked out at its corner hightop, avoiding distraction. They all but talk a turnover into existence as Emeka Egbuka fumbles at the Notre Dame 21. The “Let’s go, Irish” chants are back!

Notre Dame drives to the Ohio State 9-yard line on the ensuing possession. Whether it was due to the shock of the deficit or of the decision to kick, there was little reaction to Mitch Jeter’s 27-yard field goal attempt deflecting off the upright and falling to the turf. Freeman later said he didn’t feel like the Irish had a great chance of converting on the fourth-and-long, but Notre Dame would still have needed two scores to take the lead even if Jeter’s kick was good.

But the game isn’t over yet. A round of shots is ordered when Ohio State is facing a third-and-11 with 2:45 to play. A stop here and Notre Dame will get a chance to tie the score with a touchdown and 2-point conversion. Instead, Howard connects with Jeremiah Smith for a 56-yard gain that all but seals the Buckeyes’ win. The shots are still consumed, more silently than anticipated.

Disappointed fans spill out of the bars quickly after the game ends. There’s no need to stay around to watch Day and the Buckeyes celebrate. Walking home in the frigid weather, which feels like negative-2 degrees as midnight nears, some fans are overheard saying, “At the NIU game …” before trailing off in the distance.

There was at least one happy fan in South Bend, though. Esvian Herrera, 23, was decked out in red at The Linebacker Lounge. He’s from near South Bend but grew up a Buckeyes fan because of family ties. He’s used to being outnumbered.

“If we look around, these are my childhood best friends, and I mean everybody is wearing green,” Herrera said before his friend chimed in, saying, “Everybody besides him in this friend group is an Irish fan.”

But, at least for tonight, Herrera got the final word.

GO DEEPER

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(Photo from O’Rourke’s Public House: Michael Clubb / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)