March Madness was a ‘once in a lifetime experience’ for fans in Philadelphia

After Friday night’s first round of games went without an upset, fans of Virginia, Tennessee, UConn, and UCLA made their way back to Xfinity Mobile Arena for the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Whether they were watching their team compete for the second time in three days or witnessing them play for the first time, they brought the madness with their school spirit — and their looks.

Here are some of the highlights from the final night of the NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia:

Friday made it clear who the villain was.

On Friday night, when No. 2 seed UConn Huskies stepped onto the court, they was welcomed with boos from the crowd of 19,636 fans. And they didn’t stop there. With every jumbotron appearance of a UConn fan, the crowd continued to roar with boos. For 10-year-old Ryan Dean, this is something he’s grown accustomed to.

“I showed heart,” Dean said. “I feel like everybody is always against UConn because we’re always winning.”

The Boston native, joined by his father, Steve, cheered on UConn as it defeated Furman, 82-71. It was only fitting that they would watch the Huskies compete again on Sunday as part of their latest stop on their March Madness adventures. The two have been traveling to different tournament games for the past four years, including the Sweet 16 two years ago.

The family has witnessed a lot of triumphant with their team. UConn has made 39 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven Final Four appearances, and won six national championships.

However, opposing team’s fanbases are tired of the Huskies’ winning ways.

» READ MORE: Madness takes over Xfinity Mobile Arena in the NCAA men’s tournament. Here are the highlights.

“I’d like to see UConn lose,” said Jeff Stump, 44, of Pine Grove. “We’ve seen UConn two times out of the last four years, and they’ve always won. I would like to see them lose today. But don’t tell any UConn fans out there.”

Despite the hate from the crowd, Dean has embraced the villain mentality and intended on making his presence known on Sunday. When asked who would be the loudest fans of the night, he responded: “UConn.”

A sea of fans wearing orange sat inside Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday night. But one fan stood out: among the others. That was 14-year-old Jack Herzog.

Herzog made the trip with his mom, Laura, from Washington D.C., to attend both opening games to cheer on Tennessee.

“[The experience] has been really cool,” Herzog said. “The vibe, atmosphere. Last game there were more teams, obviously, but seeing so many different fans and everyone’s still saying ‘Oh, awesome outfit.’ Even the opponents’ fans are saying ‘Awesome outfit.’ Seeing all the different fans, it’s really cool.”

Wearing a bright orange suit, an orange neck tie under his jersey, an orange chain link Tennessee necklace, and holding a photo of Philly icon Rocky as a Tennessee fan — which his mom Laura made through ChatGPT before they arrived — Herzog had one goal for the night.

“I just got to be the brightest fan and the loudest fan,” Herzog said. “So, just show support for the Vols.”

Of course, he had some competition. One of them being 22-year-old Nick Conforti, a Yale student and host of the Niche to Notable podcast.

The New Jersey native returned home Saturday night after spending his Spring Break in San Diego. He knew he wanted to make a splash with his outfit at the tournament. But how?

“I was like ‘Mom, do you have any old Halloween costumes or anything?’ And she was like ‘Yeah, me and your dad were cows.’ They went to Penn State, which is like a big cow pasture farm area. And I guess they wore these back in college. My mom was like ‘Yeah, you can have your dad’s old costume.’ So we went up into the attic, I put this on and I was like absolutely, I’m wearing this tomorrow for sure.”

The outfit ended up landing him a spot on the jumbotron toward the end of the Virginia-Tennessee game.

With fans traveling far and wide to watch the NCAA Tournament, both Friday and Sunday were moments where school spirit shined the most — especially for Virginia.

Despite the Cavaliers’ 79-72 loss to Tennessee, Virginia was the loudest fanbase in the crowd, with many of them making the trip from Virginia on the day of.

Former University of Virginia lacrosse player Kelly Dewan, who resides in Collegeville and is an assistant girls’ lacrosse coach at Methacton High School, spent the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., where she celebrated the 15th anniversary of her women’s lacrosse team.

However, as a self-declared “super fan,” she wanted to make it back on time for Sunday’s tip off. She attended the game with her former classmates and their daughters. And before the game, they already had one thing on their mind.

“It’s awesome to see Virginia athletics on such a big stage,” Dewan said. “We love it.”

Jack Maguire, 69, traveled from Virginia Beach with his grandson Tim Maguire, 11, to catch their favorite team in the Big Dance. Although they couldn’t make the trip on Friday due to work and school obligations, they weren’t missing the Cavaliers take on the Volunteers.

“It’s super fun,” Tim said. “But I wish all my family could experience it and everyone could see UVA hopefully win.”

Whether fans were disappointed or elated with the results, the overall experience left many attendees with an unforgettable experience.

“I’m sad,” said 26-year-old Virginia graduate Abhi Shah. “I thought we’d win. I thought we’d play better. We missed a lot of shots we shouldn’t have missed. So, it stings a bit. … But the crowd was great. It kind of felt like I was back in John Paul Jones Arena a little bit.”

Shah watched the game with 25-year-old Kushal Shroff, who was recently accepted into Tennessee’s graduate program a week prior.

I thought why not come out and see the game," Shroff said. “It was a great experience to see the fans and how their school spirit is. Saw a couple chants. Overall it was a really fun experience and glad they got the win, too.”

UConn was the other team that came out victorious with a 73-57 win over UCLA in order to keep its championship hopes alive. With the win, UConn fans left Philly happy despite all the boos they endured from opposing teams.

“I think Coach Hurley and everyone is used to playing in a controversial environment,” said 25-year-old Conn. native Catherine Moore. “They’re used to it on away games. Iron sharpens iron. So, we’re ready for the next round.”

The NCAA Tournament, which came to Philly for the first time since 2022, was the start of a busy year in sports for the city, with the arrival of the PGA Championship, FIFA World Cup, MLB All-Star Game.

For Conforti, the experience was unlike any other.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience especially for schools that are not in it year after year,” Conforti said. “Right now, we have four schools that are pretty much powerhouses and they’re always usually in it. But, for schools like Furnam, Wright State, any of those smaller schools that come here, their fans rally around them. Like that Cinderella story is what college basketball, March Madness is all about.

“You want the common folk or like the lesser known teams to really make a name for themselves and those are the stories that people really thrive for and love to support. … I’m addicted to this sort of atmosphere where people are just so passionate about sports.”