Fans from 4 teams flock to Memphis
A day before their teams do battle Friday night at FedExForum, four dedicated fan bases united Thursday in their excitement to watch their teams practice and explore the sights of Memphis.
Fans decked in gear from Butler University, the University of Kentucky, the University of North Carolina and University of California-Los Angeles flocked to hotspots in between the hour-long practices that were open to the public.
Kentucky graduate Chris Jones and his son Alex, who will attend the school in the fall, came to Memphis from Cincinnati for Alex’s spring break trip to watch their team play. It’s their first trip to Memphis, but they’re already familiar with some local cuisine.
“We actually order Rendezvous shipped to Cincinnati,” Chris Jones said.
Butler fans Jeff and Jayne Jackson were also on spring break from their jobs as school teachers in Indianapolis. The two came to Memphis on Tuesday and decided to extend their trip to Monday after they arrived. They’d already been to the National Civil Rights Museum and had a lengthy list of restaurant recommendations to fill their remaining days. Around basketball, of course.
Fellow Butler enthusiasts Nick and Hasmukh Patel, a son and father living in Tampa and Indianapolis, respectively, had one mission for their weekend: “Eat, drink, watch sports,” Nick Patel said. “And watch our team win, hopefully.”
Butler’s live mascot, Butler Blue III, hit over a dozen spots in Memphis in a matter of hours, taking pictures and documenting his journey on social media.
The practices also brought out fans — some reluctant to admit they were playing hooky from work — who are local and thrilled to have their teams come to Memphis.
“It’s the most exciting thing of 2017 for sure,” North Carolina fan and Memphis resident Katie Webb said.
Webb and fellow local Kelsey Hamilton are part of a local chapter of alumni who regularly watch games together. Hamilton said she’s been passing on advice to fellow North Carolina fans from out of town about where to spend their time in Memphis.
“I think Downtown has really picked up; there’s lots to do,” Hamilton said.
Loflin Yard and the Big River Crossing were two of her recommendations.
“I need calming activities,” she said, acknowledging the heightened excitement of the weekend.
Germantown residents David and Jenni Williams were pulling hard for UCLA and came Downtown to watch their team practice. Jenni Williams said her first hope was the team would end up with a kind of hometown advantage in the Western bracket, but the Southern option was second best.
“It’s a blast because now I can see them in person,” she said.
In person and up close and personal — they found lower bowl seats for practice.
“That’s now the tickets we have tomorrow night,” she said.
Around town, local businesses were readying for the out-of-town fan blitz.
“We’re going to have sprinkles for all the teams and all the fans coming into Memphis,” said Gibson’s Donuts owner Don DeWeese.
Kentucky fan Mike Short from Huntington, West Virginia, dined on a doughnut feast — coconut, Oreo, chocolate glazed and chocolate glazed cake — with his children Conley, 4, Crosby, 13, and Heidi, 10.
Memphis was their choice for a spring break trip. The idea was, “It’s too cold to go to the beach, why not head down here for a fun trip,” Short said.
Former University of Memphis coach and current Kentucky coach John Calipari visited Gibson’s, one of his old Memphis haunts, Thursday morning. He greeted the table of long-time Gibson’s regulars.
“He was just glad to be back in Memphis, see a lot of his old friends,” DeWeese said. “We really didn’t talk basketball.”