It Remains the Hottest Ticket in Atlanta

The hottest bowl game in the country? It might be the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., where Georgia Tech faces Notre Dame.

Classified ads in Jacksonville newspapers are asking as much as $300 for $60 tickets to see the 9-2 teams. Merchandise stands near the stadium sold all of their 5,000 T-shirts, sweatshirts and caps in a day. And a ticket broker with offices in Southern California and Florida says he has noticed a startling demand.

“It’s a nothing game, but it’s 10 times hotter than the Rose Bowl,” said Scott Goldberg, president of All Season Tickets Inc. “It’s because of Notre Dame.”

But here’s another surprise: When the teams kick off Friday morning, the Irish and their legion of fans will probably be outnumbered. The Yellow Jacket faithful consider them rivals, the teams having met 31 times since 1922.

“All the Georgia Tech fans are coming down here,” Rick Catlett, the Gator Bowl’s executive director, said. “It’s the excitement of playing Notre Dame. It was the ‘Rudy’ game . . . you know, from the movie.”