South Bend is a pilgrimage town. People who root for other teams still put a Notre Dame home game on their list, because no place in the sport carries more tradition per square foot: the golden dome, the Grotto candles, the murals, the helmets painted with actual gold flake. On a fall Saturday the campus operates somewhere between a festival and a high mass.
The Mascot
The Fighting Irish leprechaun — fists up, jaw set — became official in 1965, a scrappy embodiment of a nickname that began as a jab at the school's Irish-Catholic identity and was, in the great tradition, adopted with pride. The leprechaun is a student who wins the job by audition, and the position is taken roughly as seriously as quarterback.
The Saturday
The Word of Life mural on Hesburgh Library — a 134-foot mosaic of Christ with arms raised — looks directly over the north end zone, and 'Touchdown Jesus' has been signaling scores since 1964. The band, the oldest in college football, plays the Victory March — the most recognizable fight song ever written — the players slap the 'Play Like a Champion Today' sign coming down the tunnel, and on Saturdays the stadium becomes the fourth-largest city in Indiana.
What to Wear
Our vintage South Bend line is hand-drawn art in navy and gold on garment-dyed tees and embroidered caps — heritage design for the most heritage program there is. Start with the South Bend Quarterback Tee, the golfer rope hat and all South Bend gear.