The second day of March Madness brought the same level of thrills and excitement seen on the first day. Many college basketball fans took the day off or left work early to watch Friday’s slate of games at D.C.-area bars and restaurants.
One of those establishments was The Admiral in Northwest D.C. Dozens of fans packed the restaurant Friday afternoon with more arriving during happy hour.
Fans roared with excitement when the Kentucky men’s basketball team tied its first-round game against Santa Clara with a last-second two-pointer.
One of those fans was Dan, who is the owner of a hospitality company. He chose to close his office early to enjoy all the college basketball action with a large group of Virginia basketball fans.
He told WTOP that he did have to ask “upper management,” also known as his wife, if he could come out to watch games, saying “this is not a normal Friday afternoon.”
“It’s fun,” he said. “The weather is great outside; (March Madness) is one of the best sporting events of the year.”
After a long day of studying at George Washington University, Zach said he was originally planning to go home and watch Virginia take on Wright State. After some convincing from his friends, he joined them at The Admiral to enjoying the game while drinking a beer.
“It’s always a great time watching it at home if things go well,” Zach said. “It’s a guaranteed great time if you are out with friends because you can always make up for disappointment in the games with camaraderie.”
Admiral management told WTOP it plans to see more fans come out to see games during the weekend slate of games.