Fans Can't Wait For BCS Championship Kickoff
MIAMI (CBSMiami) — South Florida will be the home to the biggest game in America on Monday night drawing football fans in from across the nation to Sun Life Stadium.
RV's pulled in and students began to line up as soon as the sun came up Monday morning; all to get a shot at purchasing last-minute tickets to attend the Discover BCS National Championship Game.
While the game is a novelty for Fighting Irish fans, Crimson Tide supporters are ready for another big game.
"This is my third National Championship in my student career at Alabama," said Sara Cox, a senior at the University of Alabama.
With just a few hours to go before the showdown between the two football powerhouses; people are still arriving without tickets hoping to hit the jackpot.
Hannah Drinkall, a freshman, was lucky enough to win tickets from Notre Dame. Both schools held a lottery for student tickets to the game.
When Drinkall found out that she was a winner for her school… she ran into a wall.
"I was running and 'Bam!'" Drinkall told CBS4's David Sutta. "I was so excited!"
As the stadium's parking lots filled up with fans, decked out in crimson and white or blue and gold, some people were just happy to be in South Florida to enjoy the game.
"We brought a generator and we got the big, a bunch of us that don't have tickets we are going to sit right here and watch it and enjoy it," said Notre Dame fan Patrick McCullough.
Other fans hadn't given up on the ticket search so easily though.
"We booked flights as soon as they beat SC a month ago and we've been hoping to find tickets today," said Fighting Irish fan Matt Malham. "I'll sit anywhere as long as I am in the stadium!"
He might have to live up to that pledge. Tickets in the nosebleed section are selling for just less than $1,000. Prices have dropped over the past week, but as supplies dwindled, fans were ready to pay a pretty penny for a ticket to the game. Malham said that he would be happy to score any tickets for a grand.
While scalpers are running the day outside the stadium, Miami-Dade Police have been busy inside the stadium sweeping for explosives.
Police are also focused on cracking down on illegal merchandise.
Undercover officers were scouring the parking lots looking for peddlers who were pushing unlicensed team gear.
"Most schools use the dollars generated from the sale of licensed merchandise for scholarship funds both athletic and academic." Michael Drucker of the Collegiate License Company explained. "And if you are fan of that school you should want to help the school."
