Brackets, office pools, picking Cinderella — it must be March.
Now’s the time of year when even sports novices become enthralled with college basketball and the NCAA tournament, better known as March Madness, as 65 teams compete to win a championship. Everyone loves making their selections, rooting for the underdogs, and maybe even calling in “sick” to watch games during work hours.
And if you’re looking for a good place to root for your favorite team among brethren, there are plenty of hangouts where fans of top teams congregate.
For those who follow Kentucky and Syracuse, two teams who have been nationally ranked first and second this season, the place to cheer is Casey’s Sports Bar and Grill. Located on New Orleans Road, Casey’s features numerous TVs to root for the Orange, Wildcats and others.
“We get most of the eastern fans in here,” said manager Chris Akins. “We get a lot of Syracuse fans. We’ll have some Maryland fans, (Connecticut) and Kentucky.”
Despite those allegiances, Akins said there’s a great mixture of fans, with many of them coming in regularly. He plans on seeing more of them once the Madness tips off.
“March is our best month of the year because of (the tournament),” said Akins. “We love it, it’s a great time. There’s a lot of talking back and forth at the bar.”
At Callahan’s Sports Bar, also on New Orleans Road, fans of two more top-10 teams often cheer there —West Virginia and Michigan State.
“For most of their games, we’ll have 20-30 people,” said owner Victor Neeley. “We’ve had good crowds. We get some Pittsburgh and Ohio State fans, but West Virginia and Michigan State (are big).”
Neeley said their crowds grow during March also because of their plethora of TVs, but added it would be a huge turnout for a Mountaineers versus Spartans championship.
During football season, Jump and Phil’s Bar and Grill on Greenwood Drive transforms into a Green Bay Packers haven. Now, that love filters into a different Wisconsin team.
“We do have the Big 10 package, so we try to show all the Badger games,” said co-owner John “Jump” Griffin of a Wisconsin team ranked in the top 20 this season.
But another faction calls Jump and Phil’s home, a team that’s always ranked high and stirs emotions among fans and foes: the Duke Blue Devils.
There’s even a little love, albeit the tough variety, for Georgia, Griffin’s alumnus.
“And of course Georgia,” he added. “We’re Georgia fans, but we’re not sure if they really have a basketball team this year.”
All Ohio State fans know to gather at Mangiamo on Main Street during football season. They’re slow to cheer as hard for basketball during the regular season, but that changes come March.
“Now when the tournament rolls around, then (people show),” said owner and operator Brian Bambeck. “When in 2007 we made that run, we had plenty of fans show up, and the deeper we went, the more people came,” he added, talking about when the Buckeyes advanced to the championship game.
And what about Clemson and South Carolina? Though they’re not basketball powerhouses, fans of both teams always show at Wild Wing Café on Pope Avenue.
“They’re here pretty much all season,” said manager Joe Massaro over cheering Clemson fans during a recent game. “When March Madness comes, obviously they’ll be here a little more.”
So if you’re looking for somewhere to sport your colors, or just a place to watch all the games, the options are as vast as filling out your brackets.
