PITTSBURGH — Some fans stayed in Pittsburgh following the Gamecocks men's basketball team's loss Thursday, while others used the time off to explore the city of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.
Jordan Li traveled to Pittsburgh from New Mexico to watch the Gamecocks. But with no more men's basketball, he said instead, he spent Friday hanging out with his friends from college and exploring all parts of Pittsburgh.
"We're able to spend time, and go get some nice dinners, taste the local food, and come to the Duquesne incline to see come of the view and just take the city one," he
The Duquesne incline, an observation deck that gives great views of the city, was a hotbed for many on Friday. Tom Reinheimer has worked at the incline for over a decade and says this weekend was a big tourist weekend for them and the city.
"Oh boy, bus loads people, busloads of the teams, the bands," he added. "It is march madness, it only happens once a year for a week or so it's interesting to watch all that happen. Especially in your home town. I'm not used to that.
Other fans like Mike Johannesmeyer said the trip home was more important and didn't stick around.
"I was debating whether to drive all the way here so you're really hoping for when a win when you do that," he said. "I'm just heading back, I've got some stuff to do with the kids on Saturday so I'm going to be driving back. It's about a five-hour drive back to Cincinnati."
Brady Inners, is a sports event manager in Pittsburg, and said the city has the potential to see a huge impact from this weekend's games and visitors.
"From unique visitors, which is just different people through the door, we're looking at around 20,000. We figure most of them who attend Thursday do come back Saturday but we do know do there will be a little bit of a different fan base tomorrow than there was yesterday," he said.
Despite the play on the court, Li says what matters the most about this weekend is seeing his long-time friends.
"Being able to travel together and obviously support the gamecocks while we do it, a lot of us are all spread out after we graduated from the university so the only time we get together is usually for weddings or really big events so this just another reason to ask our wives for permission to go hang out with the buddies," he said.