MILWAUKEE — It was sea of red, blue and orange at Fiserv Forum on Friday as round one of the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament continues into the weekend.
Fans such as Nate Lauber of Fond Du Lac came to the Deer District to cheer on the University of Kentucky Wildcats as they take on Troy University later in the day.
Lauber says this is his first time attending a college basketball tournament, but says the non-stop action and underdog stories on the court are what make the tournament exciting.
“It’s the unknown. You never know what’s going to happen in the tournament,” said Lauber. “The biggest giants can be knocked down and the Cinderella slipper comes out, so everybody’s got a shot.”
For fans like Jordan Burgason, this year’s tournament hits close to home as he lives in Ames, Iowa where Iowa State University is located and that he graduated from Lipscomb University.
“I used to play basketball for Lipscomb, so it’s bittersweet that my hometown team is playing against my alma-mater,” said Burgason. “I used to play Iowa State back in the day, so it’s really fun to see how things have come full circle.”
With the thousands of fans though brings big opportunities for businesses in and around Fiserv Forum.
Steve Davis, Director of Sales and Events at Bars and Recreation says he’s seen a large amount of Iowa State fans roaming the streets of Milwaukee since Friday morning.
“It’s been awesome! The energy outside and all the different fans from different colleges, we kind of see the New Fashioned as a melting pot for all these fans to get together,” said Davis. “Our hope is going into the rest of the weekend is that all the fans that came to Milwaukee on Friday stay for the next few days and watch the rest of the tournament from our bars on Saturday.”
Milwaukee hosts eight first round games on Friday and will host the four games set for the second round on Sunday.
