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SOUTH BEND – On a crisp, clear Saturday morning, five hours before the annual Blue-Gold game, a rickety red and white school bus in an empty parking lot stood out like, well, a rickety red and white school bus in an empty parking lot.
Three cases of Natural Light beer sat outside near the rear of the vehicle. Next to it were three cases of Busch Light. For some reason, a two-liter bottle of Sprite sat alone on a table. Just because.
Two still sealed (that would soon change) large bottles of whiskey were stored inside the bus, which featured only four traditional bench seats. An unopened Diet Coke two liter lay unattended. Up front, the bus odometer had stopped odometering at 71,000 miles. The speedometer was permanently pasted at 85 mph.
The rickety red and white bus showed its age, but none of that mattered to Notre Dame senior philosophy major and forever O’Neill 4A resident John Denvir.
“That thing is 40 years old, twice as old as me,” Denvir said. “She runs pretty well.”
She better. Denvir will graduate next month. Real life is closing quickly. He has yet to seriously ponder life after college and certainly wouldn’t on this day. Whatever comes next might come with the bus.
“Maybe I’ll live in it,” he joked. “We’ll see.”
A possible road trip to the Kentucky Derby next month is on the docket in pencil. Then, maybe the Indianapolis 500. Somewhere. Anywhere. Why? Why not?
A New Jersey native, Denvir was in Germany for the 2024 spring semester when he started thinking hard on O’Neill Hall history. Denvir remembered the tale of how 10 years ago some O’Neill guys got together and bought a bus. It died. Five years ago, more O’Neill guys found a bus on the side of the road and restored it. That also died.
Denvir was determined to rekindle an O’Neill Hall transportation tradition like no other.
“I was like, a third bus would be pretty cool,” Denvir said Saturday morning. “That’s something to put your mind to, a nice little project.”
Denvir wanted the bus in time for the first College Football Playoff game in Notre Dame football history last December at home against Indiana. An idea was hatched - find a bus. A plan was put in motion – buy a bus.
How does one buy a school bus? A 40-year-old school bus? How else? Hello, Facebook Marketplace. Denvir found a bus in the Indianapolis area. It could be his for $2,000. Only one problem – it was a stick shift. He couldn’t drive stick. A friend did, so in December, the two set out for Indianapolis to bring home the bus.
They got it and stopped at a Wal-Mart. The bus died. One thousand dollars in a tow and required repairs later, it was good as new. Or as good as old. The IU game was days away. Being finals week, nobody Denvir knew could help him drive it back. Denvir found a way to Indy, got dropped off and got the bus to an empty parking lot.
For the next three hours, grinding gears and going in circles, he learned how to drive a stick. Once he found first gear, all was good. Up 31 he drove through the December night.
“It was basically like life or death,” he said. “I was like, I either make it home or I’m sleeping in the bus. I really wanted to get home for the game.”
Denvir rolled back into South Bend the day of the Indiana game at 4 a.m. A new O’Neill bus was reality. Its game day purpose was to shuttle O’Neill residents to and from Denvir’s off-campus house on Willis Street.
It was a wonderful day/night/game.
The bus interior looks like the inside of a 40-year-old bus would look. On the back wall, the names of people who donated to the bus fund are scrawled in black magic marker. That included one name - Ray Slive – who Denvir met at the College Football Playoff national championship game in Atlanta. Slive heard Denvir’s bus story and kicked in $60.
A GoFundMe page has raised $4,000 for the bus care. It needs a lot of care.
Campus was quiet Saturday morning when Denvir and housemate Brendan McGinn set base camp in the Notre Dame Federal Credit Union lot. The pair thought they had snagged space in the Joyce Center – the tailgate equivalent of a grand slam – only to be told that, no, that wasn’t going to work. They were directed north, pulled into the credit union and started party prep.
Started stacking the cases of beer and setting up the tailgate tent. Producing the O’Neill flag that would fly later. A portable speaker inside the bus belted out “Money” from Pink Floyd. Dormmates, housemates, friends and friends of friends would soon be up and out of bed and on their way. Not soon enough.
Where are you tailgating? The bus. That bus. That rickety red and white bus with Grace Baptist Church stenciled on the sides has become a campus landmark. Like, the Grotto, the Basilica, the library and the bus. Kind of, but not really.
“Everyone loves seeing it,” said McGinn, a native of Philadelphia. “Wherever we take it anywhere, people say, ‘Oh, YOU own that bus?’”
Denvir woke Saturday at 7, way too early for a second-semester college senior to be awake. He couldn’t sleep. Not on this day. A historic day. For him. For his bus.
“This,” he said, “is her first game.”
Her first actual gameday tailgate. Her first football party. Denvir and McGinn would eventually unload the gas grill stashed in the back of the bus. Hot dogs, cold beers, maybe some Jack and Cokes. Lots of sun. Lots of fun. What a way to spend the final “football” Saturday on campus.
Setting out for Notre Dame Stadium and the 2 p.m. “game” was strictly optional. As the party got kicking, it was likely Denvir and the rest of the O’Neill dudes wouldn’t see kickoff. Or halftime. Or one play, one down, one segment of the spring game.
“I don’t know if I’m making the game, to tell you the truth,” McGinn admitted.
On this sunny spring Saturday, Notre Dame football could wait. The bus was in business.
“My pride and joy,” Denvir said. “This is more important.”
Absolutely.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: What does a Notre Dame football spring football game mean? Tailgating
Continue reading...
Three cases of Natural Light beer sat outside near the rear of the vehicle. Next to it were three cases of Busch Light. For some reason, a two-liter bottle of Sprite sat alone on a table. Just because.
Two still sealed (that would soon change) large bottles of whiskey were stored inside the bus, which featured only four traditional bench seats. An unopened Diet Coke two liter lay unattended. Up front, the bus odometer had stopped odometering at 71,000 miles. The speedometer was permanently pasted at 85 mph.
The rickety red and white bus showed its age, but none of that mattered to Notre Dame senior philosophy major and forever O’Neill 4A resident John Denvir.
“That thing is 40 years old, twice as old as me,” Denvir said. “She runs pretty well.”
She better. Denvir will graduate next month. Real life is closing quickly. He has yet to seriously ponder life after college and certainly wouldn’t on this day. Whatever comes next might come with the bus.
“Maybe I’ll live in it,” he joked. “We’ll see.”
A possible road trip to the Kentucky Derby next month is on the docket in pencil. Then, maybe the Indianapolis 500. Somewhere. Anywhere. Why? Why not?
A New Jersey native, Denvir was in Germany for the 2024 spring semester when he started thinking hard on O’Neill Hall history. Denvir remembered the tale of how 10 years ago some O’Neill guys got together and bought a bus. It died. Five years ago, more O’Neill guys found a bus on the side of the road and restored it. That also died.
Denvir was determined to rekindle an O’Neill Hall transportation tradition like no other.
“I was like, a third bus would be pretty cool,” Denvir said Saturday morning. “That’s something to put your mind to, a nice little project.”
Denvir wanted the bus in time for the first College Football Playoff game in Notre Dame football history last December at home against Indiana. An idea was hatched - find a bus. A plan was put in motion – buy a bus.
How does one buy a school bus? A 40-year-old school bus? How else? Hello, Facebook Marketplace. Denvir found a bus in the Indianapolis area. It could be his for $2,000. Only one problem – it was a stick shift. He couldn’t drive stick. A friend did, so in December, the two set out for Indianapolis to bring home the bus.
They got it and stopped at a Wal-Mart. The bus died. One thousand dollars in a tow and required repairs later, it was good as new. Or as good as old. The IU game was days away. Being finals week, nobody Denvir knew could help him drive it back. Denvir found a way to Indy, got dropped off and got the bus to an empty parking lot.
For the next three hours, grinding gears and going in circles, he learned how to drive a stick. Once he found first gear, all was good. Up 31 he drove through the December night.
“It was basically like life or death,” he said. “I was like, I either make it home or I’m sleeping in the bus. I really wanted to get home for the game.”
Denvir rolled back into South Bend the day of the Indiana game at 4 a.m. A new O’Neill bus was reality. Its game day purpose was to shuttle O’Neill residents to and from Denvir’s off-campus house on Willis Street.
It was a wonderful day/night/game.
The bus interior looks like the inside of a 40-year-old bus would look. On the back wall, the names of people who donated to the bus fund are scrawled in black magic marker. That included one name - Ray Slive – who Denvir met at the College Football Playoff national championship game in Atlanta. Slive heard Denvir’s bus story and kicked in $60.
A GoFundMe page has raised $4,000 for the bus care. It needs a lot of care.
Campus was quiet Saturday morning when Denvir and housemate Brendan McGinn set base camp in the Notre Dame Federal Credit Union lot. The pair thought they had snagged space in the Joyce Center – the tailgate equivalent of a grand slam – only to be told that, no, that wasn’t going to work. They were directed north, pulled into the credit union and started party prep.
Started stacking the cases of beer and setting up the tailgate tent. Producing the O’Neill flag that would fly later. A portable speaker inside the bus belted out “Money” from Pink Floyd. Dormmates, housemates, friends and friends of friends would soon be up and out of bed and on their way. Not soon enough.
Where are you tailgating? The bus. That bus. That rickety red and white bus with Grace Baptist Church stenciled on the sides has become a campus landmark. Like, the Grotto, the Basilica, the library and the bus. Kind of, but not really.
“Everyone loves seeing it,” said McGinn, a native of Philadelphia. “Wherever we take it anywhere, people say, ‘Oh, YOU own that bus?’”
Denvir woke Saturday at 7, way too early for a second-semester college senior to be awake. He couldn’t sleep. Not on this day. A historic day. For him. For his bus.
“This,” he said, “is her first game.”
Her first actual gameday tailgate. Her first football party. Denvir and McGinn would eventually unload the gas grill stashed in the back of the bus. Hot dogs, cold beers, maybe some Jack and Cokes. Lots of sun. Lots of fun. What a way to spend the final “football” Saturday on campus.
Setting out for Notre Dame Stadium and the 2 p.m. “game” was strictly optional. As the party got kicking, it was likely Denvir and the rest of the O’Neill dudes wouldn’t see kickoff. Or halftime. Or one play, one down, one segment of the spring game.
“I don’t know if I’m making the game, to tell you the truth,” McGinn admitted.
On this sunny spring Saturday, Notre Dame football could wait. The bus was in business.
“My pride and joy,” Denvir said. “This is more important.”
Absolutely.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: What does a Notre Dame football spring football game mean? Tailgating
Continue reading...
