| Tweet |
Every March, sports dreams, bragging rights and plentiful excuses to play hooky all collide in the form of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, affectionately known to anyone who’s ever filled out a bracket as March Madness. And also every March, that madness is felt all over the island as fans, alumni and informal groups re-congregate at favorite regular hangouts.
The insanity will be particularly thick for Brian Bambeck, owner of Mangiamo, which bills itself as “your home away from home for the Ohio State Buckeyes” on its website. Bambeck, a 1995 graduate of Ohio State and currently interim president of the local chapter of its alumni group, always hosts a crowd for Ohio State tournament games, and with the Buckeyes having spent much of the season in that No. 1 spot, he expects plenty of fans this month. But as luck would have it, his restaurant is moving to a new location across the road on Main Street – and the move is expected sometime soon.
“It’s out of my control,” Bambeck says. “It’s very chaotic. Hopefully, in the middle of all that, I’ll have basketball going on. If we’re in the Final Four, it’ll be a good (time) for us. And I expect us to be playing in the Final Four.”
While Mangiamo serves as home for Ohio State fans, Callahan’s Sports Bar on New Orleans Road tends to bring in large groups for West Virginia or Michigan State games. Last season both teams reached the Final Four; this season the Spartans will be shooting for their third straight trip there.
“At Callahan’s, they treat us well that’s why we keep going back there,” said Tony Topoleski, a Hilton Head resident and one of the leaders of an informal local Michigan State fan base. “They can depend on the Michigan State people.”
Meanwhile, over at Jump and Phil’s Bar and Grill on Greenwood Drive, patrons can still be found smiling about the Green Bay Packers. But once the tournament tips off, the bar expects the usual crowds to rally behind the defending national champion Duke Blue Devils. (The bar’s owners might even grill some brats on the deck if their favorite team, Wisconsin, keeps winning.)
Yet another spot with 30-plus TVs and a 10-foot screen is Casey’s Sports Bar and Grill on New Orleans Road. Fans of numerous teams frequent the south end spot, though owner Woody Rennie notices a regional theme.
“We get a lot more interest in the northern teams than southern teams,” said Rennie. Some of the regular groups include Syracuse, PIttsburgh and Connecticut, three of the many Big East teams who are poised to dance and possibly win the championship. “It’s wide open this year,” said Rennie, “but I think it’s going to be a Big East team.”
