March Madness draws excited basketball fans to Pittsburgh bars
As the calendar moves toward spring, the old feeling of hope and exuberance spreads across the country, and it's mostly felt by college basketball fans.
Right around the time that Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated far and wide, March Madness soon follows. The first two days of the NCAA men's basketball tournament are considered by many fans to be an undeclared holiday and the unofficial beginning of spring.
On Thursday, fans were packed inside Tom's Watch Bar on the North Shore, enjoying the mid-day celebration of postseason basketball.
"Christmas is for the kids, this is for me, baby," said Joe Keene of Bethel Park. "I've got to have a couple days of the year that I celebrate. We have a good time. We get together. We drink. We eat. It's what we do."
Besides gathering on Thursday and Friday to watch the games, most fans fill out a tournament bracket — whether on paper or online — to document their picks for which teams will survive and advance and which one will eventually cut down the nets at the end of the Final Four, which will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
"I've got 12 brackets I did, that I paid for," said Keene, who picked two different teams — Michigan and Arizona — as potential national champions in the combination.
"I look at it like this: I'm either going to win a ton of money, or I'm going to lose a ton of money," he said.
Bill McMahon of Bethel Park, a friend of Keene, also filled out 12 brackets, but chose between four different possible national championship picks, which were Michigan, Duke, Arizona and Arkansas. A Robert Morris alum and Ohio State fan, McMahon explained his rationale.
"You root for Ohio State, but you pick Michigan, and if they win, at least you get some money for it," he said.
North Hills native "Jimmy P," who currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, took a more classic approach for his picks this year.
"I filled [it] out old school," he said. "Old school bracket, by hand. I signed it and dated it."
Amidst the excitement of the games is watching the underdog teams beat the documented favorites. Two of the biggest of the first day were Atlantic 10 champion Virginia Commonwealth — the 11th seed in the West Region — beating 6th seed and perennial power North Carolina, and Big South Champion High Point — a 12th seed in the West — knocking off 5th seed Wisconsin from the Big Ten.
"I love to see those small schools play well," said Jimmy P. "Being down in North Carolina, High Point and Wisconsin? Epic."
Every fan KDKA spoke with said the same thing about the main takeaway this time of year: the focus is bigger than basketball.
"I love coming out with people," said Nate Waldron of Robinson Township. "You get to socialize, talk about different things, catch up with individuals."
"Forget basketball," Waldron said. "Basketball is a plus because I'm a basketball fan, but being able to talk to people and just fellowship with people is awesome."
Stay tuned to KDKA for ongoing NCAA Tournament action, with four more games scheduled on Friday.