Connections

Downtown Bloomington watch-party rush: Lines wrap blocks as IU plays for football national title

Downtown Bloomington sidewalks filled Monday morning as IU fans bundled against 11°F temperatures, camping outside Brothers, Nick’s, Kilroy’s and other bars for seats to watch IU vs. Miami for the national title. Some arrived Sunday night. Buskirk-Chumley is an overflow option.

The line to get into Bar & Grill on North Walnut Street. (Dave Askins, Jan. 19, 2026)

Around 9 a.m. on Monday (Jan. 19) the normally empty sidewalk from 6th Street along Walnut north up to Brothers Bar & Grill was packed with people huddled under heavy coats and blankets against the 11F° temperature, camped out waiting for 11 a.m. when the bar opens.

They were there to claim a space inside the bar, to watch the college football game later tonight between Indiana University and University of Miami, which will determine the national champion this year. With kickoff set for 7:30 p.m., they had another 10 and a half hours to wait.

Those at the head of the line said they had arrived at 10 p.m. the night before, which will make for a roughly 24-hour game day experience.

One of those early arrivals was Cristina Liberto, an IU senior from Chicago, who said she had encouraged others to join her. “I let them know—I said we’re forming the line right now. If you want to be a part of it, come get in line!” she said. Liberto said she thinks the atmosphere inside the bar, with the camaraderie and community of other students, would make it feel like being at the game.

Also at the head of the line, Emily Szczepanski, a senior from Fort Wayne, told The B Square this game would be the last chance for her as a student to watch IU—a team she had not really followed growing up, when their ways were not so winning. She’d watched Notre Dame football instead.

It was a similar scene at Kirkwood Avenue and Dunn Street, as the sidewalks leading to Nick’s English Hut, Kilroy’s on Kirkwood, and The Upstairs Pub were filled with fans looking to stake a claim to a spot to watch the game.

One woman, who was dressed in IU gear, was walking down Walnut Street from the line for Brothers—she said her daughter was in line, but didn’t think she was close enough to the head of the line to get in. The line stretched from Brothers around the corner at 6th Street all the way to the north-south alley that splits the 6th Street block across from the historic county courthouse.

For fans who aren’t able to get into a bar, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater is supposed to remain open for a football game watch party, immediately following the city of Bloomington’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday celebration there.