March Madness: Men's tourney underway with zero Philly teams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The madness has begun and some brackets have probably already been busted.
The NCAA Tournament is underway, tipping off on CBS3 Thursday afternoon.
But for the first time in decades, there isn't a lot of love for Philly schools in the tournament.
Bankroll, a new sports and entertainment spot in the city, opened early Thursday. Because of the tournament, all of the tables have been reserved for Thursday night and Friday.
There's a lot of excitement, but this year, you won't see any Philadelphia schools up on those screens. This hasn't happened in 46 years.
The year was 1977.
Jimmy Carter became the 39th president of the United States.
The price of gas was well under a dollar per gallon and the original Star Wars movie was released in theaters.
It's also the last time zero Philadelphia men's basketball teams made it to the big dance.
"I'm hurt," Vance Thompson, of North Philly, said. "Temple didn't make it, Nova, La Salle, Drexel. I hope next year will be better."
"It's not as exciting as normal years because Villanova is not in it, but it's just so intensely exciting because you got games starting at noon going all the way to midnight," Bob Gomberg said.
It's been decades since the last Philly drought during March Madness, but fans are still excited for the NCAA Tournament.
Some people left work early, others took the day off to catch the action inside Bankroll, a new luxury sports and entertainment spot in Center City.
"We have over 70 screens, which makes it so you can see all the games all at once and don't have to pick and choose," Padma Rao, the CEO of Bankroll, said.
Gardie Herr says he's been waiting for this moment for the past 11 months.
"You get to see kids live out their dream. I was a former college athlete, so I like to see that excitement for these little schools and people who never thought they'd be anywhere live on CBS at 12:15 with millions of people watching the game," Herr said.
Despite it being a disappointing year for college hoops in Philly, fans are still ready for the busted brackets, buzzer beaters and Cinderella stories this year.
"Not having any Philadelphia team makes it a little less exciting than normal years, but it's still March Madness and still very invigorating and exciting," Gomberg said.
Many fans said they're rooting for Princeton and Penn State, hoping they can make it to at least the Sweet 16.
