KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.
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Maloney’s was hopping Friday afternoon with NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games on TV screens as far as the eye could see.
“Just be out with a group of people, be excited when close games happen, cheer for our teams, and look for an upset,” John Anderson said. “It's always good to see some upsets.”
Anderson and a couple of friends were seated on the upstairs deck on a perfect spring day with several hundred other college basketball fans.
“I feel like March Madness is a sign that it's springtime,” Katie Young said as she took in the tourney with her dad. “I feel like the weather always warms up around this time, the vibes are good, so it's fun to have something to cheer for, especially outside of football season.”
Young is a Kansas State fan, so she doesn’t have a dog in this year’s fight — unlike Kansas and Mizzou, whose tourney journeys started Friday night.
One Tigers fan we found came a long way to catch March Madness with his buddies.
“I just tried to surprise these guys,” Anthony Robb said. “I live in Fort Collins, Colorado, and I drove after work last night up to Hays, Kansas, and then just got here and surprised them maybe 30 minutes ago.”
Robb and a half-dozen friends from college were a few beers and a few games deep into Friday's NCAA slate — and they were not alone.
“The weather's amazing,” Randy Lierz, a Mizzou fan sitting at a nearby table, said. “There's too many KU fans here for my liking, but besides that, it’s fantastic.”
That’s bound to happen in Johnson County, Kansas. Fortunately, at least during the pregaming portion of the day, things stayed friendly, but it’s still a rivalry.
“I hope they lose by 30, and I hope these guys are leaving at halftime very sad,” Jayhawks fan Brad Lynn said. “I'll order them some drinks if they need a pick-me-up later.”
Lynn and a couple of buddies had taken over several in the heart of the bar upstairs at Maloney's.
“We’ve got about 15 to 20 people coming today,” he said. “We've done this for the last five or six years. We come up here and sit up top — got blessed with the weather today.”
Lynn hopes KU gets blessed with a win as well.
“I’ve got some confidence,” he said. “We’ve got (freshman phenom Darryn) Peterson to carry us through some games this year, so I'm excited. I think we can go on a little run.”
Mizzou fans were feeling good, too — even if their recent NCAA tourney history hasn’t been great, including losses to a No. 15 seed twice since 2012.
“Are you glad they're not playing a 15 seed today?” I asked Lierz.
“That's a rough one,” he said, laughing to avoid the tears. “But yes, I am. I think we’ll get Miami.”
The Tigers are the No. 10 seed in the West Regional and face the seventh-seeded Hurricanes in St. Louis. Tipoff is set for 9:10 p.m.
“At least we’re the lower seed,” Robb said. “We’re not expected to win, but if we win, and when we win, it’s gonna be fun.”
The Jayhawks, the fourth seed in the East Regional, tip off against Cal Baptist at 8:45 p.m. in San Diego.
KU fan Hunter Atkinson and a friend took the day off work, played golf in the morning, then settled in for an hours-long college hoops marathon.
“We love college basketball,” Atkinson said. “It's fun. It gives us a reason to take off work ... come here, get to watch basketball all day, have some drinks. It's a stress reliever.”
Amen — now, cue Mr. Brightside!
“Cool,” Atkinson said before an abrupt change. “Wait, nuh-uh — no, nope. Not today.”
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