March Madness Hits Uptown Friday
It's the hottest ticket in Charlotte his weekend.
CHARLOTTE, NC — March Madness! It’s the hottest ticket in Charlotte his weekend.
North Carolina is one of eight teams in town for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. And Tar Heel nation is turning out, preparing to pack Uptown when play tips off Friday afternoon.
“Yeah, I left early,” says Patrick King. “It was totally worth it!”
The 13-year-old was playing hooky, for hoops!
The UNC fan spent the afternoon watching the Heels practice in the Spectrum Center, Carolina preps for a matchup with Lipscomb on Friday.
“I got to see head coach Roy Williams,” says King. “And they threw down some good dunks.”
Roy Williams even went ahead and filled out Patrick’s bracket. Guess who coach is picking!
“I work Uptown, so I got her out of school and we decided to come up and watch the team,” says Cindy Stauffer. “It’s been a blast!”
Stauffer brought her daughter Chloe to the open practice. Chloe got a picture with Tar Heel heartthrob Luke Maye!
“I didn’t know what was happening,” says Chloe. “I just saw all the papparazi coming over, or the cameras. And she told me to get a picture. So yeah, it was interesting.”
“I really wanted to see Joel Berry and Luke Maye,” says CJ Gray. “One of my favorite players.”
The Heels were like rock stars.
The 11-year-old was on a father son outing. A chance to see their favorite team, for free!
Tickets are sold out for Sunday’s games, with only a few tickets left for Friday’s round of 64 contests.
“We’re going to watch them on TV, but we felt like that it would be great opportunity to come out and see the guys in person,” says CJ’s dad. “Just have a little fun, father son time.”
Eight teams in town, for six games, over four days.
Fans coming in to watch. Hotel rooms booked. Meals to eat.
March Madness is a big bonus for Uptown business, and a dream come true for fans.
“It was great,” says UNC fan Jay Covington. “It was great. You can’t beat up close and personal; Roy Williams, just Tar Heel nation.”
Texas A&M and Providence play at 12:15 Friday afternoon in the Spectrum Center. North Carolina and Lipscomb tip at 2:45.
It’s Virginia and Maryland-Baltimore County, and Creighton versus Kansas State in the night session. The winners from each session on Friday will meet on Sunday.
