Notre Dame fans and Clemson fans not able to get into Notre Dame Stadium next weekend now have their destinations to enjoy the primetime game. NBC and Peacock will host watch parties at the Linebacker Lounge in South Bend and at Backstreets Pub & Grill in Clemson.
The event is a part of the Fanbase Face-off, the quest for each fanbase to show who has the best fans. The watch parties will include prizes, competitions and perhaps special guests, beginning at 6:30 ET. Cameras will also be at both the Linebacker and Backstreets to feed live shots onto the NBC broadcast of Clemson’s first return to South Bend since the Irish upset the No. 1 Tigers in double overtime in 2020.
“We love to represent where local South Bend residents and loyal Notre Dame fans come together to watch and celebrate their favorite college football team,” Mark Monahan of the ‘Backer said. “We are excited to see the response of the community to come out and enjoy another incredible football Saturday.”
On the off-chance some Irish fans are knocking around South Carolina on Nov. 5, they should feel welcome at Backstreets, even if most folks there will assuredly be wearing orange.
“We are all college football fans,” Backstreets owner Pete Matsko said. “There is something that brings us together, even though we root for different teams. It’s the love for the game. It’s watching young men ages 18 to 25, most of whom will never play professionally, play their hearts out.
“It’s watching a five-star recruit throw a national-championship winning pass with five seconds left in the game to a walk-on. It’s having the Rose Bowl, South Bend and Michigan on your bucket list of stadiums to visit. It’s playing at night in a torrential downpour to a packed house, and it all comes down to the last drive.”
Matsko may or may not have been directly referencing Notre Dame’s last trip to Clemson, with its next scheduled for 2023.
He, however, will not be pouring drinks next Saturday, not unless the Linebacker lets him make a cameo behind the bar. Matsko is checking a trip off his own bucket list.
The Linebacker and Backstreets were chosen for these watch parties via fan vote.
We asked. You Decided. Now tune-in on Saturday November 5 for the big game, you won't want to miss these teams AND fanbases go head-to-head on @NBC and @Peacock.#FanbaseFaceoff pic.twitter.com/ThD5NMU7W0
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) October 28, 2022