Lots of buzz in El Paso for Notre Dame

Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas

It’s no secret Notre Dame will enjoy tremendous crowd support in the Sun Bowl against Miami.

After all, an estimated 80 percent of the population in El Paso is Roman Catholic.

“I think we’re going to be treated like the home team,” Notre Dame offensive lineman Chris Stewart said Wednesday. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. It’s going to be fun.”

Historically, El Paso has been among the nation’s most supportive bowl cities. The game, which dates to 1935, always has been known for its hospitality and fans who support whatever teams are invited.

But El Paso has been buzzing since 2006, when a tie-in with the Bowl Championship Series broke up the traditional matchup between teams from the Big Ten and Pac-10, and made it possible that Notre Dame could someday make the trip to West Texas.

“It took a lot of different things coming together before it could happen. There were other bowls that picked ahead of the Sun Bowl,” explained Bill Blaziek, general manager of the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau. “But it finally happened.”

When coach Brian Kelly stepped off the airplane this week, one of the first things he heard — along with the strains of strumming guitars and festive trumpets from a mariachi band — was organizers and fans telling him about El Paso’s love affair with the Irish.

“We’ll take it,” Kelly said.

Miami’s interim coach, Jeff Stoutland, doesn’t sound too concerned that Fighting Irish fans in El Paso might provide an unfair boost to Notre Dame when the teams renew one of college football’s classic rivalries on Friday. He noted that Miami has a team priest, the Rev. James P. Murphy.

“He’s our priest, a good Irish priest with red hair,” Stoutland said.

Even if Notre Dame has an edge in fan support, Stoutland said it won’t make any difference because his players can thrive in a hostile environment.

“The University of Miami is used to this type of element — forever,” Stoutland said. “I think that’s kind of what gives us energy.”

Blaziek, too, was quick to say Miami fans have been filling up El Paso hotel rooms, just as many as the Notre Dame fans who don’t live in El Paso.

“We think we’ll see a good turnout from the Hurricanes,” he said.