Some national analysts love to claim that Notre Dame is somehow irrelevant in this day and age. Others, like Mike Tirico, know that there are few schools with the history and prestige of the program located in South Bend.
Tirico, who is a jack-of-all-trades on the sports broadcasting front, recently appeared on the Pat McAfee show and discussed his long and storied career. He discussed some of the places he's gone and the teams he's covered, and when all is said and done, he said that South Bend and Notre Dame Stadium are places that he'll never forget.
"I live in Ann Arbor. I know what Michigan Stadium's like," Tirico began. "To go to South Bend, and ESPN wasn't doing games there because it was just the NBC contract. To have five or six years of doing games in the Cathedral of College Football, Notre Dame Stadium, was awesome."
Olympics. World Cup. NBA Finals. Super Bowl. Stanley Cup. Golf majors. Tennis majors. You name it, Mike Tirico has worked it.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) January 28, 2026
He said calling Notre Dame football is up there with everything else.
"That was one of the great experiences I have ever had."pic.twitter.com/EH8HH7kCxQ
Mike Tirico tells Pat McAfee why Notre Dame Stadium left a lasting impression
It needs to be pointed out that Notre Dame standing out when Tirico is doing the Olympics is really something. That he's an ingrained and homegrown Wolverines fan and still loves seeing the Irish play in their home stadium says everything.
Despite some people spending the winter complaining and grousing about the Irish, mainly because they worked out a sort of back door into the College Football Playoff field, it's clear that people who don't have a dog in the race understand the reality.
Notre Dame has been and continues to be a program that stands out as one of the best in the history of the sport.