With a historic upset of top-seeded Kansas and a Final Four berth in the NCAA men's basketball tournament under the school's collective belt, Virginia Commonwealth University students have adopted downtown Richmond restaurants and bars as their official cheering sections.
The outpouring of enthusiastic, black-and-gold-clad fans filled local hot spots — including the Village Café, Home Team Grill and Mulligan's — to capacity for both the Friday and Sunday games last weekend.
"VCU is a very diverse school. I've never seen people gather together so much in support of the same thing," said VCU senior Zack Stump, who watched the VCU-Kansas game with friends at Baja Bean Co. on Main Street in the Fan District. "It's definitely a more engaging atmosphere. Everyone feeds off each other, and going out to watch VCU compete in the Final Four completely dwarfs every other experience."
Now that fans and business owners have recovered from the initial euphoria over the team's historic tournament run, plans for this weekend are well under way, said Emmy Rueger, co-owner and general manager of the Village Café, at Harrison and Grace streets, just a block from the campus.
"We've definitely had to double-up on staff. This weekend, we're putting in four extra TVs throughout the restaurant so people can watch the game from anywhere and not just at the bar," Rueger said. "Every year during this time we get slammed with VCU fans, but this year, with them making the Final Four, it's taken it to another level."
Additionally, business appears to be booming for other restaurants and bars near the campus. According to Kelly Crockett, manager of the Home Team Grill on Main Street, the restaurant and bar had record sales during the Elite Eight and Final Four qualifiers.
"The place has been packed wall-to-wall even before the Friday and Sunday games," Crockett said. "There have been lines out the door with people waiting. Our capacity is 192, so we've had to be really strict on that, but all the fans are very thrilled and going crazy the whole time — the mood has been very high."
Mulligan's owner John Sweeney said in the sports bar's 21-year history, he has never witnessed a crowd reaction quite like this one.
"The crowds here have been full-house, as I'm sure everybody in the area has experienced, but the excitement level is something that we haven't seen," Sweeney said. "The fans have been phenomenal. They are fully dressed in VCU items, they have their Rams horns out — they're ready to watch the games and cheer on the Rams."
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