The foyer was the golden gate to a house that served as a tribute to Notre Dame football.

There were banners on the wall, and memorabilia — all in Fighting Irish gold — neatly arranged in John "Jack" Kelly's Temecula, Calif., home.

"My grandpa was a huge fan," said Dan Kelly, the University of Hawai'i's placekicker. "I kind of grew up having the Fighting Irish thing in my face the whole time. Playing them is a nice way to end my career."

Notre Dame's appearance in today's Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl is a boost to the 7-year-old postseason game, which had faced the marketing-Grinch possibility of inviting the likes of Western Michigan as UH's opponent.

Notre Dame, in contrast, is one of the most celebrated football programs in NCAA history.

It is the Four Horsemen.

It is, "Win one for the Gipper."

And it is "Rudy."

Maurice Crum still gets chicken-skin when he thinks about Notre Dame lore. Crum is a senior linebacker for the Fighting Irish.

Despite a pedestrian 6-6 record, the Fighting Irish still are an attraction. As of yesterday afternoon, ticket sales had reached 45,000.

The attendance was 40,633 for the Warriors' last appearance in the Hawai'i Bowl, in 2006, when they defeated Arizona State.

"Because of Notre Dame, the national attention Hawai'i has gotten through the media has been incredible," said David Matlin, executive director of the Hawai'i Bowl. "Case in point: In the first 24 hours after we announced that Notre Dame would be invited, we received Internet ticket orders from 33 different states, two provinces and the District of Columbia. That sends a pretty strong message why this is a great thing for Hawai'i as a world-class tourist destination."

When John Kelly's widow learned of the Notre Dame's participation, she decided to buy a ticket for Patrick Kelly — her son and Dan Kelly's father — to attend the game.

Patrick Kelly said he convinced his mother, a die-hard Fighting Irish fan, to root for Hawai'i.